. Clothes are often made from a mixture of fabrics and fibers, and usually come with zips, buttons, Velcro and other bits. There is also a multitude of dyes and finishings, such as water-repellent coating. The processes involved in recycling textiles are labor-intensive, require many steps and the reproduced material is often of a lower quality, said NEA. Singapore does not have any textile or leather recycling facilities, so all such waste that gets recycled is exported, the agency added. Most of these are used clothing exported for reuse and the quantity of such exports has decreased since 2018.