The clothing mountain visible from space: How 60,000 tonnes of discarded clothes ended up in Chile’s Atacama Desert

In Chile’s Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on Earth, a massive mountain of discarded clothing has become a striking symbol of the global fast fashion crisis. Outside the northern city of Alto Hospicio, thousands of tonnes of unwanted garments from around the world now cover the desert landscape. Many clothes arrived through the international second-hand trade, with some finding new owners while others remained unsold and were abandoned. The growing textile waste site, estimated to contain around 60,000 tonnes of clothing, includes jackets, shoes, children’s wear and even garments with tags still attached. Reportedly, satellite images have revealed the scale of the problem, highlighting the hidden environmental cost of modern fashion consumption.How unwanted clothes end up in Chile Chile has developed into one of the world's largest entry points for used clothing. Every year, well over 60,000 tonnes of second-hand garments arrive through the northern port of Iquique, much of it shipped from Europe, the United States, Canada and parts of Asia.The city's free-trade zone has long made importing goods relatively straightforward. Traders sort, grade and resell clothing to buyers...