Management of textile waste from housholds in Czech Republic

Proper consumer attitude towards textile products and optimal post-consumer waste management of textile waste is connected with many benefits. Despite this fact, little research has been conducted on these topics. Textile waste represented mainly by donated textile from households and its material flow in waste streams mirrors the behaviour of our consumer society as well as new technologies in textile and fashion industry. More information about consumer attitude and behaviour toward textile and textile waste is needed to provide suitable waste management processes according to the hierarchy of waste management, such as re-use and energy recovery, and to ensure sustainable development and minimal impact on the worlds wellbeing. This study takes into account not only waste management of textile waste, but also tries to understand all textile issues in a wider perspective. Particularly fashion industry is connected with many negative ethical aspects (e.g. sweatshops), and many environmental issues are connected with overproduction of lower-quality textile products. Proper handling of post-consumer textile products is only one of the product life cycle stages to be solved. The main goal of this study is to discuss the results of a consumer attitude and behaviour questionnaire toward textile and textile waste from households in the Czech Republic. The study also includes partial hypotheses and an analysis of interest groups as other possible sources of information to form proper textile waste management policy tools and strategies