United Kingdom

A report that analyses the socioeconomic impact of the second-hand clothing industry in the EU, the UK (EU27+), as also the three African countries of Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique, says that the sector generated a cumulative €3 billion of revenues in Europe alone in 2023.

An £11 million funding in the UK will help develop clever robotic clothing which keeps people active and independent, addressing the needs of the country’s 6.7 million people with age or disability-related mobility issues.

Consumers in the UK are increasingly ready to make conscious consumption decisions that benefit not just their wallets and wardrobes, but the planet as well as second-hand fashion gains popularity, with 41% of adults now buying and wearing more second-hand clothing than they did two years ago, says an Oxfam survey.

An industry-backed white paper lays out a clear call to the UK government to incentivise sustainability and secure funding for the development of high-impact circular infrastructure, jobs and skills in the country.

UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has promised a crackdown on greenwashing by fashion brands and even warned 17 of them to review their green claims. In doing so, it will help to make sure shoppers looking to buy ‘green’ can trust the claims they see.

The UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT) has come out with a report that aims to encourage innovators, brands, retailers and manufacturers to work together so that the industry can collectively achieve environmental impact reduction goals.

UKFT has launched a competition for fashion and textile small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based in the UK or those that place products in the UK market to help develop an intelligent, fair and balanced EPR fee system for Britain.

A study on post-consumer policies in the athleticwear sector has revealed that eco-conscious consumers are not well-served by clothing companies claiming green credentials, and environmental circular economy initiatives for activewear enterprises are limited by where firms and consumers are located, preventing them from being fully effective.

Research at the Universities of Bristol and Bath has led to the creation of low-power interactive, digital clothing which senses and captures movements much more accurately than is possible using current phones and smart watches, while preserving the pervasive processes and systems used for manufacturing of everyday garments.

An investigation of different PFAS (perfluoroalkyl substances) – chemicals which do not break down in nature – has given an insight into the significance of the dermal route as pathway of exposure to a wide range of forever chemicals.