The European Union is taking steps to rein in a hugely destructive industry, one that is responsible for 20% of the world’s water use and 10% of greenhouse gases – the fashion sector. It is a sector where waste has trebled in the past 20 years.
The EU is demanding that products are made more durable, repairable and recyclable. It is also moving to extended producer responsibility – the ‘polluter pays’ principle – to which the UK government claims it is committed, despite scant evidence of delivery (see the blocking of the Scottish bottle deposit scheme).
Some EU member nations, like France, are encouraging the repair sector – a huge area of opportunity for small businesses – by subsidising its activities, paying from 6 euros to 25 euros for each item.
Critics say, with reason, that this is still far from enough. But it is something.
But what is the UK doing? Currently nothing. That’s despite the fact that the environmental audit committee produced a comprehensive list of recommended actions back in 2019. And lots of good proposals have also emanated from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
So today in the House of Lords I’ll be asking the UK government what it plans to do to tackle a problem that, proportionately, is even greater on these islands than across the Channel.
Wastage visible from space
Three hundred thousand tonnes of clothing and textiles are thrown away by UK households each year, most ending up in landfill or incineration. Or dumped willy-nilly in the Global South, where it forms an environmental and health hazard. The Atacama Desert in Chile has a pile of discarded clothing imported from the Global North estimated to cover 741 acres. Ghana and Kenya are also drowning in our waste.
Ultimately, given around 60% of fibres produced in the world are artificial i.e., plastic, such waste is a significant contributor to the huge global microplastics crisis. That discarded T-shirt might eventually come back to you in your food, water or air. In demand for Russian oil, it is helping fuel the attack on Ukraine. And that’s without even getting started on the PFAS crisis (‘forever chemicals’) frequently used in waterproofing or stain-resisting coatings.
This is not a problem that can be solved by individual action – which is not to say that can’t be a step in the right direction. I’m sure Oxfam’s ‘Second Hand September’ campaign will get an honourable mention in today’s debate.
But the problem starts with the manufacturers: it is estimated that of the 150 billion fashion items produced each year, 45 billion are never sold or worn.
The multiple drivers of a throwaway society
I was at the Bonn COP24 climate conference in 2018, listening to the first ever official fashion event at the UN talks. Burberry was in hot water then for destroying unsold products in the interests of “protecting its brand” – but it happened to be the company that got caught. It was, and no doubt remains, common practice.
But consumers do buy these clothes in huge numbers. Why? One answer is poverty. If you need a nice crisp white shirt for a job interview on Monday, and you can only afford the cheapest of fast fashion, then you’ll do what you’ll have to do. And all I’ll say is “good luck in the interview”. One cause of fast fashion demand in the UK is poverty.
Another is advertising. Often so-called social media ‘influencers’ are blamed, but public transport around these islands is blanketed with giant adverts for ridiculously cheap clothes promising to improve your terrible day, make you feel good, or enable you to attract that potential partner. With some steps already taken on fast food advertising, new regulation could be another step forward.
And then there’s the quality of clothes – so many designed to be worn once, not sufficiently durable to stand up to laundering once, let alone on multiple wears. That’s something the EU has set the path on, which we could easily follow.
A question of justice
The cost at which many garments are sold is less than the cost of a repair. How is that possible? The short answer is poverty, starvation, wages and dangerous, often deadly, conditions in the manufacturing countries, overwhelmingly, but not solely, in the Global South. (Leicester has become infamous as a centre of exploitation of workers – and small businesses – in the UK by the global fashion giants.)
The case for UK government action is overwhelming. But I won’t be holding my breath for a positive answer about government plans.
