The fast fashion industry needs to be held accountable for the clothes (textile) waste it produces!

At the moment, it’s easier for fast fashion giants to dispose of their un-used/damaged/returned clothing in landfill rather than to mend it. Let’s make their waste, their responsibility. Sign this petition to support sustainable fashion #GoSLOW

Read more around the issue, here:

When the UK Government announced the ’25 Year Environment Plan’ for a green future, the plan stated that the UK should drive progress on certain SDGs, such as sustainable consumption and production.

Importantly, the way we make, use and throwaway our clothes is unsustainable. The fashion industry emits more CO2 than aviation and shipping combined, and less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing. This mass overconsumption, particularly within the fast fashion industry, will result in devastating social and environmental impacts. Fashion shouldn’t cost the Earth. 

In solution, the Government must change the system to end the throwaway society.

However, the UK Government has rejected all the 18 recommendations in the ‘Fixing Fashion’ report (Environmental Audit Committee, February 2019), and little progress has been made.

If the report will not be accepted, we want to home-in on one particularly important recommendation: A ‘Extended Producer Responsibilities’ (EPR) scheme to reduce textile waste with a 1p charge per garment. 

It’s time for fast fashion giants to take responsibility for the clothing they waste. We believe a 1p charge per garment discarded is a fair share of responsibility, in which this could be a vital step towards making the fashion industry more sustainable. 

As evidence for this, France introduced an EPR scheme for clothing in 2007 making clothing, linen and footwear companies responsible for the management of their end of life products. This has resulted in over 90% of the items collected being reused (59.4%) or recycled (31.8%) as well as creating a significant number of employment opportunities (ie. sorting centres). 

If you think the UK should encourage a more sustainable fashion industry, signing this petition is a crucial first step #GoSlow