UK
A new report into the environmental impact of the UK clothing industry demonstrates the value of collaborative action as signatories to the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) in cutting carbon, water and waste. The report – Valuing our Clothes: the Cost of UK Fashion – is an update of WRAP’s pioneering 2012 assessment of industry that heralded the launch of the SCAP voluntary agreement the following year; developed by the sustainability not-for-profit organisation in partnership with Government and industry.
WRAP has worked closely with major clothing designers, brands, manufacturers, retailers, fashion houses and re-use & recycling organisations to drive forward more sustainable production and buying practices, and increase the instances of re-use and recycling of clothing.
This has been achieved through a range of SCAP initiatives varying from sustainable fibre procurement, to advice and support for households on caring for clothes, to working to increase reuse and recycling.
SCAP membership has grown quickly and now accounts for more than half of the UK clothing market (60%). Midway through the agreement and SCAP signatories have made impressive reductions in carbon, water and waste on a per-tonne basis.
Water (2020 target of 15% reduction): a 13.5% reduction in water use on every tonne of clothing sold by SCAP retailers – enough water to fill 23,000 bath tubs or nearly 3 Olympic sized swimming pools, per tonne sold.
Carbon (2020 target of 15% reduction): a 10.6% reduction on every tonne of clothing sold by SCAP retailers – enough CO2 to fill one-and-a-half hot air balloons, per tonne sold.
Waste (2020 target of 3.5%): a 0.8% saving for every tonne of clothing sold by SCAP retailers – equivalent to 30 pairs of women’s jeans for every tonne of jeans sold.
Steve Creed, Director Business Programmes WRAP, said “I am delighted by how well SCAP signatories are doing. At this stage of the agreement they are not only well on the way to achieving the targets, but continue to outperform the sector as a whole, particularly in sustainable cotton. It’s amazing that 20% more cotton is now sustainably-sourced by signatories than when we began. Having high-street names like M&S, Tesco and Sainsbury’s setting ambitious sustainable cotton targets will help ease the pressure on some of the world’s most water-sensitive countries.”
