Chile’s desert dump for 60K tons of fast fashion seen from space

What a waste.

A satellite image taken above Chile’s Atacama Desert captures ever-growing mountains of discarded clothes as the problem of fast fashion persists.

The photo, shared last month by the satellite photo and video app SkyFi, highlights the result of the roughly 59,000 tons of used and unsold clothing that arrive at Chile’s Iquique port each year from the US, Europe, and Asia.

Whatever can’t be resold across South America joins the desert dumpsite to slowly decay.

It can take up to 200 years for many of these items to biodegrade, as most are made with synthetic fabrics or treated with chemicals.

The textiles pollute nearby water sources and soil with toxic chemicals, sparking health concerns.

An estimated 39,000 tons of unwanted clothes are added to the pile each year.

SkyFi said it obtained the image for $44.

“The satellite image that we ordered of the clothes pile in Chile’s Atacama Desert really puts things into perspective,” reads the SkyFi blog post.

“The size of the pile and the pollution it’s causing are visible from space, making it clear that there is a need for change in the fashion industry.”

SkyFi reported it was able to pinpoint the coordinates of the piles with help from members of its Discord channel and quickly accessed an existing image.

The Post has contacted SkyFi for comment.

Similar images of mountainous landfills overflowing with articles of clothing near Nairobi made headlines earlier this year.

At the time, investigators estimated that 300 million items of “damaged or unsellable clothing” made of synthetic materials end up in Kenya’s landfills or are burned.

The United Nations found in 2018 that the fashion industry is responsible for 2 to 8% of the world’s carbon emissions.

The fast fashion market was estimated to be worth over $106 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach $185 billion in 2027.