The dark side of fast fashion recycling | May 11, 2026

0:11 What's up, sunshine?

0:13 Hope your weekend was more refreshing than the center seat of a cucumber,

0:16 and I hope you showed all the mother figures out there in your world some love.

0:19 We are kicking off the week with some in-depth investigations,

0:22 and I know today is technically May 11th,

0:25 but we could not miss an opportunity to highlight your 10 out

0:28 of 10 moments like we do on every 10th of the month, so stay tuned for that.

0:32 Let's go.

0:33 We begin with a story that may have many

0:35 of us rethinking the environmental impact of our next outfits.

0:38 The fashion industry, or fast fashion industry,

0:42 has brought trendy looks from the runway to store shelves in record time,

0:46 but it's also taking a big toll on our planet.

0:49 Each year, the world generates about 92 million metric tons of textile waste,

0:54 and fast fashion is only accelerating this crisis.

0:58 In India, all that discarded clothing

1:00 is fueling a booming billion-dollar recycling industry,

1:04 but for some workers, it's coming at a cost of their health.

1:07 Our Hanako Montgomery has more on the industry's hidden human toll.

1:11 In India's Panipat, the world's wardrobe is given new life.

1:16 A million tons of discarded clothes get recycled here every year,

1:21 arriving in relentless waves.

1:23 This is incredible.

1:24 Look at this.

1:26 This is unbelievable.

1:29 This entire room is covered in clothing.

1:32 Oh my gosh, this has a tag that says Goodwill.

1:34 This is a thrift store in the United States.

1:37 A lot of the garments are collected from charity bins across places like the US,

1:41 UK, and Japan, then sent thousands of miles across the world.

1:46 Once here, they're first sorted by color, shredded, and spun into yarn.

1:53 Then at another factory, they're woven into rugs and carpets to be sold

1:57 back to the countries the clothes first came from.

2:01 In US we are working with like TJ Max and then like Walmart,

2:05 Target, Hobby Lobby, Kirkland.

2:08 So So basically all the brands that every American has heard of.

2:13 Panipat's textile recycling industry is worth billions.

2:16 Our investigation found this profitable fix for the world's

2:19 and America's fast fashion waste comes at a sickening cost.

2:24 Most factories operate informally with little oversight.

2:29 I've only been standing here for 5 minutes and look,

2:32 I'm already covered in dust.

2:34 The air workers breathe daily is suffocating and inescapable.

2:38 Plumes of lint enveloping them wherever they turn.

2:42 But it's difficult to speak to workers under their employers watchful eye.

2:47 So we go visit a local doctor who treats the worst of cases.

2:51 Do people die from these diseases?

2:53 If they inhale the same air daily on the daily basis,

2:57 yes, it definitely shortens their lifespan.

3:00 Subhash has been in and out of hospitals for months.

3:03 Are you in a lot of pain?

3:05 Are you suffering?

3:06 Yes, it's painful.

3:08 It's difficult to eat.

3:10 It's difficult to walk.

3:13 But quitting isn't an option.

3:15 He has three kids to feed.

3:17 To understand why more isn't being done to protect

3:19 the nearly a million workers this industry employs,

3:22 we speak to the head of Panipat's dying association.

3:26 He insists there's no real problem.

3:28 So while we've been in Panipat,

3:30 we visited a few dying units where there were no masks,

3:34 no goggles, no gloves being worn.

3:36 Why is that?

3:39 They are uneducated.

3:40 That's why they don't wear masks.

3:42 Everything is provided by the boss.

3:45 But in every informal factory we visited,

3:48 not once did we see these rules enforced.

3:51 Instead, we saw workers left breathless and exposed with nowhere else to go.

3:57 But the damage extends far beyond factory

3:59 walls to an ecosystem that millions depend on.

4:03 They use really hazardous chemicals to bleach textiles,

4:06 but they don't have good drainage systems,

4:08 so the water is actually allowed to seep into the surrounding environment,

4:11 poisoning the people and also the land here.

4:14 We've contacted several government agencies for comment on our findings.

4:18 None replied.

4:21 We thought we were giving these clothes a second life.

4:24 But here, they're costing people theirs and leaving

4:27 them and their city buried in our waste.

4:31 The 2026 FIFA World Cup is coming to North America

4:35 this summer and right at the heart of it all, Atlanta, Georgia.

4:38 This week I sat down with Arthur Blank and his son

4:40 Josh Blank following the ribbon cutting of the brand new Arthur M.

4:44 Blank US Soccer National Training Center here in Georgia.

4:47 Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium is hosting eight matches including a semi-final.

4:52 And footy is exploding faster than a penalty kick to the top corner here.

4:56 Some are even calling Atlanta the soccer capital of America and the Blank

5:00 family's played a huge role in helping to make that happen.

5:03 So, what impact could the World Cup have on business,

5:06 culture, and future generations of players?

5:09 Let's kick it with the Blanks.

5:11 Soccer brings um not only young people together,

5:15 but people together and a very unique way.

5:18 Soccer has become a big part of our business,

5:20 but it's a big part of the community,

5:22 it's a big part of the life of so many people in the Atlanta region,

5:25 so we're thrilled to be part of it.

5:27 Josh, I'm not so sure that the global audience

5:30 might understand just how passionate footy fans are in America.

5:35 Talk in Europe, talk in South America, right?

5:37 What's one thing you wish that global

5:39 audience knew about the American footy fans?

5:43 Our love for the sport is as authentic

5:47 and as die hard as these countries continents

5:51 that the sport has been an existing property

5:55 and played for hundreds and hundreds of more years.

5:58 MLS has only been around for for 30 years

6:01 and the Premier League and all these other leagues have been

6:03 around for a hundred plus and while we're still young

6:08 that certainly doesn't mean that our passion for the sport,

6:11 our energy for the teams is is any less.

6:14 Our passion for the sport is is incredibly high

6:17 and we're incredibly excited to show that off this summer, too.

6:20 The Arthur M.

6:21 Blank U.S.

6:22 Soccer National Training Center.

6:25 You've given so much of your money to causes, to businesses.

6:29 Why soccer?

6:30 Why was that important to you?

6:31 When Cindy Cone, the chairperson and J.T.

6:34 Batson, our CEO of U.S.

6:35 Soccer Federation approached us, my easy answer was yes.

6:38 I mean, they did their pitch,

6:39 but actually within 5 minutes I was going to say yes.

6:42 U.S.

6:42 Soccer was the only nation that was in the top 30 without a permanent home.

6:49 And having the opportunity to be a part of that and and build it,

6:53 hopefully will then elevate U.S.

6:55 as a soccer nation and as a federation,

6:57 both men's, women's, youth, and across the board.

7:01 It's a It's an exciting opportunity.

7:03 And one that that the U.S.

7:04 definitely needed.

7:05 Who's more competitive between the two of you?

7:08 Wow.

7:09 I'm going to say me just selfishly, but I think it could go either way.

7:12 He has all of his marathon times written down and I've done two.

7:16 And he has me beat on the marathon, but I have a beat on the half marathon.

7:21 So, we go back and forth on that.

7:22 What do you say?

7:23 I think we're both very competitive.

7:24 Yeah, I mean, our whole family is actually, I would say.

7:27 Um, but he's definitely right at the top of the stack.

7:32 Pop quiz, hotshot.

7:33 What popular drink was invented in Taiwan?

7:36 Orange soda, bubble tea, slushies, or matcha latte?

7:46 If you said bubble tea, nailed it.

7:48 In the 1980s, the famous night markets in Taiwan began to combine milk,

7:53 tea, and chewy tapioca pearls for a late-night pick-me-up.

7:57 Whale, oh whale, what do we have here?

7:59 Taiwan's Coast Guard and volunteers have stepped up to rescue

8:02 a pod of pygmy killer whales stranded on a beach in Taiwan.

8:06 The squad of four, including two males, two females, one being pregnant,

8:10 were found half submerged by the Donjiang Bridge in New Taipei City.

8:15 Though they've got whale in their name, they're actually a species of dolphin.

8:19 The Coast Guard tended to the dolphins by covering them in wet blankets,

8:23 pouring seawater over their bodies.

8:26 After being evaluated at a rescue center,

8:28 the Taiwan Cetacean Society said they were

8:31 ready to wave goodbye and return home.

8:34 They were released in pairs back into the ocean.

8:42 Today's story getting a 10 out of 10,

8:43 everyone watching this show right now, you.

8:46 Every 10th of the month,

8:47 we highlight some of our viewers' 10 out of 10 moments of the year so far.

8:51 And this month, so many moments of greatness.

8:53 What a better way to start than by rocking

8:55 out to our theme song played by Connor from California.

9:11 Connor learned all of that by ear and put his own little twist on it.

9:15 We love it.

9:15 Shout out to all of you in Jeff's

9:17 class at Prospect Sierra in El Cerrito, California.

9:25 [music] Next up, we are punting it across the country

9:27 and touchdown at PikeView High School in West Virginia.

9:30 The Princeton Tigers, led by Coach Posich, won the state title championship,

9:35 the first time in their program's history, way to rise up.

9:40 Next shout out goes to Crews Middle School in Lawrenceville, Georgia.

9:44 These seventh grade reporters made their very own CNN

9:47 10 shows using what they learned about Southwest Asia.

9:50 Let's take a look at some of these superstars in action.

9:54 What's up, sunshine?

9:55 I hope you're having a wonderful day.

9:56 Pop quiz, hot shot.

9:57 Which religion has been fighting itself for years?

9:59 Play that Friday music, y'all.

10:01 We are CNN 10.

10:03 Well, dag nab it.

10:04 I hope my boss is not watching that.

10:05 Do not come for my job, y'all.

10:07 Well done.

10:08 Next up, we are going sky-high.

10:10 Clayton Anderson, a 10th grader from Duluth, Minnesota,

10:13 took these stellar photos of the Northern Lights.

10:15 Thank you for sharing this magical moment with us.

10:19 Lots of creativity.

10:20 Big wins from all of you this month.

10:21 Keep it up and send us your videos,

10:23 your photos to our email at cnn10@cnn.com for June's 10 out of 10 moments.

10:30 We look forward to them.

10:32 Hope you have a marvelous Monday.

10:33 We're going to see you right back here tomorrow.

10:35 I'm Coy Wire.

10:36 We are CNN 10.

10:38 [music]