The primary report is Textiles Market Situation Report 2024, which looks at the market through three distinct prisms—UK consumption, UK manufacturing, and post-consumer textiles. Whichever prism you look at the situation through, things don’t look good.
For those who see fashion consumption itself as a problem or maybe even as the reason for the bigger problem at hand have reasons to be worried. Consumption, which had understandably dipped between 2019 and 2020, are back to near pre-COVID levels, with the UK consuming 1,420kt of virgin products in 2022. But the 2022 figures had been adversely affected by the cost-of-living crisis. Household expenditure on new clothing reflect similar fluctuations, with the amount now standing at £56.1 billion.
Clothing prices have steadily increased by 1.4% from 2015 to 2021. The 7.6% inflation in the 12-month period to August 2022 actually kept clothing consumption on a leash. "The average cost per clothing item followed a different trajectory, registering nearly a 2% decrease since 2015 and finishing at £16.37 in 2022."
The consumption comes with its direct environmental impact. The carbon and water footprints of textiles consumed in the UK decreased from 2019 to 2021, but rose again in 2022. This is being attributed to a decrease in the mass of textiles consumed during that period due to COVID-19. However, the impact per tonne of fibre used in the UK changed by less than 1% for both carbon and water footprints. The environmental impact of textiles consumption in the UK remains very high, with carbon and water footprints at 32.9 million tonnes of CO2e and 4.98 billion m3 of water.
But it's the post-consumer textile scenario that the UK is struggling to grapple with. See these three bits:
- Approximately, 1.45 million tonnes of used textiles were generated in the UK in 2022. Of this, around 276,000 tonnes were sold to the public, 650,000 tonnes were diverted to reuse and recycling from end-of-life disposal, and 421,600 tonnes were exported.
- In 2021, around 711,000 tonnes of used textiles were discarded in the household bin and in general waste containers at Household Waste Recycling Centres. This means almost half (49%) of all used textiles in the UK was disposed of in general waste, or 35 items per person per year on average. Of these items, 84% was incinerated with energy recovery and 11% was sent to landfill.
- Between 2013 and 2023, there was a 57.5% reduction in price per tonne for textile bank donations and a 41% reduction for charity shop donations, without accounting for inflation. The 2023 figures stood at £172.5 per tonne for textile banks and £255 per tonne for charity shops.
The press release issued by WRAP observed: “WRAP warns a perfect storm is brewing, with more post-consumer clothing coming onto the second-hand market and the presence of more fast fashion and low-quality items impacting on the profitability of the centuries old markets that trade in second hand clothing and textiles. It warns that the UK doesn’t have sufficient infrastructure to accommodate all the clothing and textiles that are being discarded and that recycling and reuse organisations need urgent support to avoid sending textiles waste to landfill. It also highlights the need for improved design to make clothes more durable.”
But that’s putting it mildly, because the economics are out of control.
The reuse and recycling sector is very small but has had to cope with a 57.5% reduction in price per tonne for textile banks, and a 41% reduction for charity shops in the last 10 years, without accounting for inflation. Therefore, the value of recovered textiles from textile banks and charities has fallen over the last decade. The 2023 figures stood at £172.5 per tonne for textile banks and £255 per tonne for charity shops, while a decade earlier, 2013 figures were more than double at £406 per tonne for textile banks, and significantly higher at £432 per tonne for charity shops.
The reason for the price drop is simple: the high volume of lower quality clothing.
When the EAC revisits its fashion sustainability report, it will have a new set of ground truths to deal with.
