Smart clothing bins that pay you: Europe pilots a “deposit return” system for used textiles

Europe is testing a new initiative for reusing old clothing. The TexMat project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme, plans to install special containers that can assess and sort used garments and pay a reward for them. The system is intended as an alternative to popular secondhand resale platforms such as Vinted and Wallapop.

TexMat is being implemented with the participation of the University of A Coruña, two technology companies, and the organisation Humana Fundación Pueblo para Pueblo.

As part of the initiative, the plan is to install smart clothing containers that can automatically accept items, analyze their condition and quality, determine the type of fabric, and measure the level of wear. People will be able to receive a cash reward for the clothing they hand in. The better the condition of the item, the higher the compensation.

The system will first be tested in a pilot phase running until 2029. Two containers are planned for Spain, and later the project will expand to Finland. One collection point will be located in a major city, and the other in a less urbanised area.

Developers believe the system will help increase the amount of clothing that gets reused. According to the project coordinator, Elina Ilen from the Finnish research centre VTT, the initiative could reshape the secondhand clothing market by allowing consumers to earn money for items they previously would have simply donated or thrown away.

According to Spain’s Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU), 75% of people in Spain have bought a secondhand item at least once in the past year. On average, Spaniards spend about €167 per year on secondhand purchases, most often on clothing and footwear.

If the pilot proves successful, similar containers could appear in cities across Europe.