Waste

Producers would soon be held responsible for the full lifecycle of textile products, according to the new proposals to introduce mandatory and harmonised Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes for textiles in all EU Member States.

A recent study has mapped material flows across London's fashion supply chain, identifying where carbon hotspots occur and shows that fashion makes a significant contribution to the city’s consumption-based emissions associated with the stuff are used. 

Now bits of yardage languishing in warehouses and adding to pollution will be made accessible to suppliers and brands through the just launched Deadstock Depot by digital sourcing platform Material Exchange.

Lenzing and Södra are pooling their decades-long experience, knowledge and technology to develop the OnceMore process under a project, which will receive €10 million in funding from the European Union. The joint project will make a significant contribution to the EU’s action plan for circularity.

The UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT) is working towards a blueprint to innovate, combine and advance existing and new supporting technologies to overcome current barriers to materials circularity.

Discarded textiles in Europe, including used clothing and footwear, are an increasing waste and export problem. A European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing shows that Europe faces a challenge in how to handle its own used textiles.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and the Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) have set up a taskforce which will explore a range of methods, including evaluating recycling and sorting practices, in a bid to reduce the environmental impacts of fashion and textile waste.

Under the guise of sustainability, the East African nation of Kenya has been rendered a favourite dumping ground of EU countries as they export millions of tonnes of ‘mitumba’ (secondhand clothes) which are mostly non-recyclable synthetic clothing too dirty or damaged to be reused.

This autumn’s spring/summer collection by fashion brand Filippa K will be made from recycled and sustainably produced materials in partnership with Austrian supplier of specialty fibres Lenzing and Swedish pulp producer Södra.

The European Environment Agency (EEA) has said that the market for textile waste in the region does not meet the criteria to be a well-functioning market, with a large chunk of it traded as secondary raw material for downcycling activities, and a minuscule volume recycled into new textiles for new products.