The Atacama Clothing Mountain: 60,000 Tons Visible from Space and a Symbol of the Fast Fashion Crisis

Every year, Europe discards millions of garments that travel thousands of kilometers to end up in the Atacama Desert, in northern Chile. There, next to the city of Alto Hospicio, a mountain of clothing over 60,000 tons accumulates, visible from space according to the SkyFi application. The UN has described it as an “environmental and social emergency for the planet.”

Europe is the world’s leading exporter of discarded clothing, accounting for 30% of the total, ahead of the United Kingdom (16%) and the United States (15%).

The accumulation mechanism

The clothing arrives at the port of Iquique, within Chilean free zones, where goods are not taxed while in transit. Importers try to resell it in Latin America, but when they can’t find a buyer, no one assumes the cost of removing it. Thus, the surplus ends up in the desert.

According to the European Parliament, each EU inhabitant acquires 26 kilos of textiles a year and discards 11. Much of that surplus ends up in Atacama.

Investigations by the NGO Ekō and the Chilean collective Desierto Vestido identified brands such as H&M, Zara, Hugo Boss, Adidas, Levi’s, Old Navy, Under Armour, Tommy Hilfiger, and Nike among the piles of garments. Christmas sweaters, ski boots, and intact labels turn the driest desert on the planet into an involuntary showcase of fast fashion.

Environmental and social impact

Some of the clothing is burned or buried, releasing pollutants. The combustion of synthetic fabrics, mainly polyester derived from petroleum, generates toxic compounds that affect the air and groundwater.

The Desierto Vestido collective and SPLACH documented that the simultaneous incineration of textiles and plastics produces chemical combinations with unpredictable health consequences. Residents of Alto Hospicio must stay indoors with windows closed during burning episodes.

Mayor Patricio Ferreira summarized the situation: “We have the feeling that our land has been sacrificed. We are the world’s garbage, and there is still no awareness to solve this problem”.

International visibility

In 2020, activists released the first images of the landfill. Since then, satellite programs like ESA’s Copernicus have confirmed that the textile stain continues to grow.

The port of Iquique receives between 120,000 and 180,000 tons of used clothing each year, making Chile the fourth-largest importer of second-hand clothing in the world.

In 2025, the First Environmental Court of Antofagasta issued a historic ruling: it recognized the responsibility of the Chilean State for omission and ordered a 10-year environmental remediation plan. The case is on appeal before the Supreme Court.

Fast fashion and extended responsibility

A UN report noted that the rise of fast fashion has multiplied the global trade of second-hand clothing sevenfold in four decades. In Chile, about 70% of post-consumer garments are donated or thrown away, and only 1% is recycled.

The Government has incorporated the textile industry into the extended producer responsibility law, requiring importers to take responsibility for the waste they generate. However, the measure does not resolve the fate of the tons already accumulated.

Recycling initiatives

Companies like EcoFibra, founded by Franklin Zepeda, are trying to turn the problem into a resource by manufacturing insulating panels with abandoned clothing. However, they face regulatory obstacles, as the textiles contain chemicals that exclude them from conventional municipal landfills.

The Atacama textile mountain is the most visible symbol of the global impact of fast fashion and the international trade of used clothing. With more than 60,000 tons accumulated and a constant flow of new garments, the challenge requires joint solutions between governments, companies, and civil society to curb an environmental crisis that is already visible from space.