The textile industry’s impact on the climate has sparked a drive for significant overhaul and sustainable change within the sector. Overproduction and unnecessarily high demand are causing significant amounts of waste and emissions within the sector, but what can be done to curb this trend?
At present, the textile industry is estimated to be responsible for 5 – 10 per cent of global emissions (as much as the combined impact of international shipping and aviation), and 20 per cent of industrial water pollution. The issue is that the fashion and textile industries are constantly growing and experiencing surges in demand.
PwC’s latest report suggests that global clothing sales have more than doubled in the past 20 years and continues to grow faster than gross domestic product. The excess demand is met with fast fashion solutions and quickfire production, meaning as much as 40 per cent of manufactured clothing is never sold or worn.
According to research from the European Clothing Action Plan, the UK is Europe’s biggest fast-fashion offender. The average UK citizen buys an average of 26.7kgs of clothing per year, nearly twice the consumption of Europe’s second biggest offender, Germany.
Further to this, some of the fashion industry’s biggest culprits, including Primark and Zara, are placing the emphasis of their sustainability policies on recyclability and recycling, which doesn’t address the problem at its source: overproduction and demand. For example, Primark have pledged to use 100 per cent recycled and sustainably sourced materials by 2030, while Zara have committed to just 40 per cent recycled content in its clothing by 2030.
PwC’s research found that reusing clothing is almost always better than recycling it in terms of the environment. By comparison, the carbon footprint of a reused cotton t-shirt is around 60 times smaller than that of a new one.
Reuse models include third-party reselling, such as charity shops and thrift stores, peer-to-peer, referring to apps like Vinted, Depop and eBay, and trade-in schemes like those run by Patagonia. While reuse models may seem like more effort and resources for textile companies, PwC suggest they are profitable if managed effectively.
Effective reuse and trade-in schemes present a route for fashion brands to improve their environmental credentials while tapping into a new market opportunity. Clothing producers and sellers that adopt more impactful consumer-centric initiatives will not only reduce waste, but they can affect positive, consumer action.
Since excess demand is one of the drivers of pollution in the textile and fashion industry, industry giants might be under the impression that to tackle climate issues within their sector at their source, they must sacrifice demand and sales. This isn’t the case if effective reuse and trade-in schemes are introduced, servicing demand in different, more sustainable ways. Industry trends are set by industry leaders.
WRAP have a detailed guide explaining how retailers can implement and maintain clothing take-back schemes.
Olivia Downham, Net Zero & Sustainability Consultant
A YouGov survey conducted in January 2024 found that only 33 per cent of participants were concerned about the environmental impact of clothing. However, 85 per cent expressed opposition to landfill or incineration for unsold clothing. 60 per cent claimed to own clothes they “didn’t regularly wear” and 43 per cent said they were “frequently frustrated” with wardrobe clutter. This suggests consumers are leaning into buying habits they don’t necessarily believe in.
Further research from the Green Alliance has shown that consumers support retailer policies that aim to reduce waste and overproduction and encourage reuse more than recycling targets.
Waiting for government intervention isn’t sufficient to curb waste in the heavily polluting fashion and textile industry, so companies need to take the following actions today:
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