In the Netherlands, approximately 800 to 900 million pieces of clothing are purchased every year. Women's clothing leads the way, accounting for just over half of the average household expenditure on clothing, followed by men's and finally children's apparel. In the past few decades, clothing prices in the Netherlands have also dropped: allowing citizens to purchase more for less. This trend hides structural issues within clothing production and its associated working conditions.

Circle Economy and HIVA - KU Leuven have found that a scenario that prioritises clothing reuse locally presents the most impactful employment potential for the Dutch clothing value chain, creating 25% more jobs that business as usual in 2050. The highest increase stems from local collection and waste sorting activities. Reuse is also bolstered due to a growing second-hand market, resulting from second-hand retail stores becoming more prevalent and increased repair and maintenance services.

In a fully-circular textiles scenario, new jobs in the repair sector will emerge: from (re)manufacturing designers to employees that can assess the quality of second-hand garments. Resale collection managers and technical, associate and professional level workers in technology and e-commerce will come to the fore in resale, while increased collection and sorting will see a boost in the number of textile collectors and sorters.