A total of 53 retailers, suppliers, charities and recyclers in the clothing sector have committed to significantly reduce the environmental impacts of clothing across its lifecycle.
Brands including Tesco, M&S, Next and designer Stella McCartney have signed up to the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) led by WRAP.
Under the commitment, the signatories will pledge to a 15 per cent reduction in carbon, water and in waste to landfill, plus a 3.5 per cent reduction in waste arisings per tonne of clothing by 2020.
To date 29 signatories and 24 supporters have signed up including 12 retailers and 15 charities, recyclers and collectors.
By working across the who clothing lifecycle, SCAP has been able to identify the actions which deliver the biggest reductions in environmental impact, and these are reflected in the targets.
Three key actions are:
- The use of lower impact fibres
- Extending the active life of clothes
- An increase in reuse and recycling.
A new campaign, Love Your Clothes and supported by the signatories, has been launched by WRAP. It aims to help consumers to thing about they way they buy, use and discard clothing.
WRAP chief executive Liz Goodwin said: “SCAP has excellent industry buy-in with signatories representing 40 per cent of UK clothing sales and many leading charities and recyclers on board. By agreeing to these stretching targets they are demonstrating their commitment to reducing the environmental footprint of the sector.
“But it’s not just SCAP signatories who have a role to play, UK consumers are also key. We spend billions on clothes every year that we are not getting the most out of and that’s bad for our wallets and the environment. By working across the lifecycle and mobilising industry and consumer action, we can achieve amazing results.”
