Nepal's rivers are dangerously clogged with textile waste: Eco Age report

June 13, 2025

Category: SUSTAINABILITY

Country: Nepal

Region: Asia

A new investigation by Eco Age has uncovered the widespread scale of textile pollution in Nepal’s rivers, linking the country’s growing clothing waste crisis to environmental degradation and the global garment supply chain.

By Isabelle Crossley
10th June, 2025.

Extensive field research reveals that Nepal’s 6,000 rivers, once clean enough to drink from, are now visibly choked with shredded, brightly coloured garments, reads a report authored by Tansy Hoskins and Arun Karki, published on Eco Age's website.

The Bagmati River and its tributary Dhobi Khola are among the most affected, their banks heavily clogged with textile waste. Though Nepal has banned the import of worn clothing, a surge in low-cost new garments, primarily from China and India, has overwhelmed local waste systems, according to the report.

“Ready-made garments are coming into Nepal, with the biggest portion coming from China, the second biggest portion is coming from India,” said Bhim Kumari Giri of the Garment Association, Eco Age reported.

Religious customs have also played a role, according to the report, with funeral rituals involving the discarding of clothing and household textiles directly into rivers.

Meanwhile, the Banchare Danda landfill continues to receive toxic textile waste, transforming once-pristine farmland and affecting food cultivation.

Despite Nepal contributing only 0.027% of global greenhouse gases, it ranks as the fourth most climate-vulnerable country.

“It really feels sad to see clothes thrown in the river… after the last floods… it was horrible," said slow fashion advocate Alpaja Rajbhandari.