Illustration: Bok Goodall
Plans to reduce waste were unveiled on Global Recycling Day (Thursday 18 March) – including proposals for new measures that will ramp up action on fast fashion and hold manufacturers accountable for textile waste with ablueprint to cut industrial carbon emissions by two-thirds within 15 years.
These plans form part of a new wide-ranging Waste Prevention Programme for England which sets out how the Government and industry can take action across seven key sectors – construction; textiles; furniture; electrical and electronics products; road vehicles; packaging, plastics and single-use items; and food – to minimise waste and work towards a more resource efficient economy. This includes steps to use resources more efficiently, design and manufacture products for optimum life and repair and reuse more items.
The fashion industry is estimated to account for 4% of annual global carbon emissions, while textiles production leads to greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the emissions of France, Germany and the UK. We buy and throw away increasing amounts of fabrics, with the purchase of clothing rising by almost 20% between 2012 and 2016, and around 921,000 tonnes of used textiles disposed of in household waste each year.
Progress has been made by the textiles industry, led by the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan, a voluntary agreement coordinated by WRAP. Signatories – which include major fashion retailers such as M&S, ASOS and Next – collectively reduced their water and carbon footprint per tonne of clothing by 19.5% and 15.9% respectively between 2012 and 2019.
The Government aims to galvanise ambitious industry action through a new voluntary agreement – Textiles 2030 – for the next 10 years, which will aim to reduce the environmental footprint of the textiles sector through science-based targets.
These reforms will help the UK build back better and greener from the pandemic, and boost global leadership in tackling climate change and plastic pollution. As hosts of COP26 this year, President of the G7 and a key player in the CBD COP15, the UK is leading the international climate change agenda and landmark waste reforms will help bring government, society and the world Together for our Planet
