WRAP has released its updated UK Textiles Pact Roadmap, marking a pivotal stage in Britain’s effort to halve the carbon footprint and cut water use by 2030. The new framework adds a supply-chain decarbonisation workstream and reinforces circular business models — yet warns that rising production volumes threaten to offset the environmental progress achieved so far.
- WRAP data shows per-tonne gains in carbon and water efficiency, but total emissions and consumption remain higher because of increased product output.
- The Roadmap’s modelling demonstrates achievable 2030 targets if circular business models and design durability scale rapidly across the market.
THE RATIONALE: WRAP’s Roadmap responds to data showing that per-tonne efficiency gains are being offset by increased textile production. It establishes a single framework for signatories, focusing on upstream emissions, design durability, and supply-chain decarbonisation to regain momentum toward the 2030 carbon and water targets.
- Through extensive engagement with its signatories, WRAP identified the barriers preventing the scale and speed of progress, leading to the creation of an updated framework for collective action.
- The Roadmap introduces new indicators designed to guide reductions in carbon and water use, enabling signatories to spend less time deciding what to do and more time taking action.
- Its new “Supply Chain Decarbonisation” workstream tackles upstream emissions while promoting durable, recyclable design standards throughout the sector.
- WRAP positions this co-ordinated approach as a decisive turning point capable of converting pledges into measurable outcomes for climate-aligned growth.
THE EVIDENCE: Per-tonne carbon emissions among UK Textiles Pact signatories have fallen 6% and water use 9% since 2019, yet overall environmental impact continues to worsen. Textile production volumes increased 17% in 2024, driving a 10% rise in total carbon output and 7% higher water consumption, effectively cancelling efficiency gains made through improved materials and processes.
- The 17% growth in new textiles placed on the market has outpaced efficiency gains, illustrating WRAP’s warning that absolute reductions remain unattainable while production volumes keep expanding.
- WRAP’s modelling projects that continued dependence on linear manufacturing will intensify emissions and water stress, highlighting the need to scale circular business models beyond pilot initiatives into mainstream commercial operations.
- Reuse and resale channels displaced an estimated 1.12 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent in 2024, demonstrating measurable benefit alongside continued growth in new product manufacturing.
- WRAP’s progress data show 62% of textiles placed on the market now have reduced impacts, 16% of fibres are recycled, and reuse networks handled 210 000 tonnes — a 27% increase since 2019 with 13% resold peer-to-peer.
- WRAP acknowledges the continuing challenge of decoupling commercial growth from carbon- and water-intensive material use, calling for wider collaboration to accelerate the transition to circular practices.
THE POLICY SHIFT: WRAP is emphasising that voluntary commitments, however effective in fostering innovation, cannot alone correct structural market failures in the textiles sector. The organisation and its partners are now advocating a mandatory Textiles Extended Producer Responsibility framework to ensure that all actors contribute equitably to the costs of collection, reuse, and recycling, aligning commercial incentives with long-term circular-economy outcomes across the UK market.
- WRAP has already submitted a cross-industry position to Defra and the Circular Economy Taskforce supporting a national Textiles EPR scheme grounded in producer accountability and green-growth principles.
- The proposed system would establish a consistent funding base for reuse, repair, and recycling, creating a mandatory framework that builds on voluntary efforts to support sector-wide participation and accountability.
- Collaboration with the Irish government and preparation for EU-aligned EPR legislation demonstrate how the new Roadmap anticipates regulatory evolution within interconnected markets.
- Policymakers, NGOs, and industry leaders are being urged to use the UK framework as a model for co-ordinated circular action that balances competitiveness with environmental responsibility.
- WRAP’s joint analysis with OC&C highlights that circular industries have been expanding 3.1% faster than linear businesses since 2020, underlining the economic rationale for mandatory EPR and accelerated circular investment.
WHAT THEY SAID
The textiles sector is as fizzing with innovation and new thinking as ever. As a sector we face a huge challenge: how to decouple commercial growth from the use of carbon- and water-intensive primary materials, and make the transition to Circular Living – with better products and services for consumers. Through the UK Textiles Pact, we’ve seen game-changing advances in the technologies and business models of the future with new collaborations challenging old assumptions and turning what was niche into mainstream consumer behaviour.
— Catherine David
Chief Executive Officer
WRAP
We are committed to moving towards a circular economy where waste is cut and resources are valued; fashion should not cost the Earth. Through our Circular Economy Strategy, we will support growth in the sustainable textiles sector, and I welcome the updated UK Textiles Pact Roadmap as a key step in driving climate action and circular innovation – as well as encouraging reuse and repair.
— Mary Creagh
Circular Economy Minister
Government of Ireland
