UNEP Suggests Way Out; Lays Down Roadmap for Textiles Sustainability and Circularity

Making it work: The Roadmap breaks it all down into nine building blocks that address the key drivers of environmental and/or socio-economic impacts (‘hotspots’) within the value chain, support the delivery of the existing industry goals, and require multiple stakeholders to act together. 

1. Sustainable and circular textile business models are adopted globally. This requires a significant shift in perception of what ‘value’ means for consumers, brands and retailers. The focus must be placed on shifting the market and business revenue away from linear models towards circular models that have demonstrated environmental and social impact reduction across the life cycle, or focusing on selling experiences or other non-material goods rather than physical products.
2. Textile overconsumption and overproduction are addressed. A significant decrease in overconsumption is required, particularly in developed countries. This can be achieved through a combination of increased clothing utility (how long a product is used) and shifting consumer norms and aspirations towards lower consumption through engagement with the social and emotional aspects of behaviour. Reducing overproduction will be important for brands and retailers, and can be achieved through improved stock and demand management, as well as exploring new models such as on-demand production.
3. All textile products are designed to minimise impacts and support circular models. Design must be informed and intentional. Improved data and feedback loops will be critical to take into account knock-on effects of design at each stage of production, use and end of use. Products should be designed to consider the relevant circular business model (e.g. durability for rental), and with the assumption that they will be an input to closed loop recycling.
4. Better product care reduces impacts and improves product durability. The consumer ‘use’ phase for textiles has chemical, energy, and water impacts, alongside microfibre and product durability issues. However, most textile brands do not include the consumer use phase in their impact evaluations and there are no large initiatives working on this phase. There is especially a need for more data on product care impacts and behaviour, also considering that consumers are diverse and global.
5. The textile value chain drives resource efficiency and eliminates production pollution, production waste, on-site fossil fuel use and chemicals of concern. Textile production sites—especially wet processing sites—require major support and investment to substitute machinery and apply circular production methods. This is particularly important for sites beyond tiers 1 and 2 of large multinational brands, or production countries without strong policy enforcement on cleaner production.
6. A just transition with skilled, safe, and empowered people takes place and social issues in the textile value chain are addressed. This includes collaborating with less-developed countries and previously marginalised communities, including – but not limited to – women, young people, indigenous and tribal peoples and persons with disabilities, which will help to avoid significant trade-offs and negative consequences.
7. Textile raw materials are shifted to sustainable or recycled sources. There is a need to rapidly scale new and more sustainable production and cultivation practices for virgin raw materials, and to mainstream fibre-to-fibre recycling through improved practices as well as investment in waste management systems and infrastructure.
8. Significant improvements in shared infrastructure are made globally for a sustainable and circular textile value chain. This includes renewable energy, waste management and water treatment, as investment in shared infrastructure is essential to unlock the potential of individual actors to make changes in their own systems.
9. All textile waste is diverted from avoidable landfill and incineration. Shifting consumer behaviour and global dynamics are required to avoid the need for landfill and incineration; for example, through circular solutions that reduce waste outputs. Solutions are needed to avoid shifting responsibility for waste disposal, such as trade of used textiles to locations that cannot use them and lack the infrastructure to adequately process textile waste.

Everyone has a role to play: The Roadmap also lists out what different stakeholders can do:

Brands and retailers:

• create revenue in a more sustainable way and dematerialise business value through new business models;
• prevent problems at the design stage instead of trying to solve them later through design for low impact and circularity;
• make decisive business improvements based on science-based evidence to reduce environmental and social impacts.

Raw materials producers and manufacturers:

• identify and implement the best technical practices for production sites and prioritise on-site;
• improvements and innovation for environmental impact reduction;
• protect, invest in and empower workers, and work together to address shared barriers
• benefit from symbiotic opportunities and drive system change.

Innovators and recyclers:

• provide the solutions and innovations for change and create new circular offers and technologies;
• create accessible and scalable solutions and ensure that solutions are adapted for multiple types of users and contexts;
• be realistic and purposeful about scaling change in a challenging system, including planning for market realities.

Non-governmental, representative, and technical organisations:

• advocate for and support rapid action from the industry and policymakers, and drive ambition and improvements;
• provide credible mechanisms, recommendations and data for prioritisation and accountability;
• address system-level barriers through convening stakeholder collaboration.

Policymakers:

• raise ambitions and implement new sustainable and circular policy instruments;
• invest in the transformation and match funding flows to intentions;
• think holistically about the impact of policies, consult widely on policy design and implementation, and coordinate key stakeholders to set ambitious and effective sustainability policy.

Financial institutions:

• understand and address the actual investment needs of diverse stakeholders in the transition to sustainable and circular textiles and address systemic funding barriers;
• build internal capacity, understand the details, and plan for the transition;
• drive real innovation in solutions, processes and metrics, create innovative financial products and increase available funding for sustainable and circular solutions.

Communication and consumer engagement actors:

• make behaviour change aspirational and reframe the narrative;
• understand the complexities of ‘the consumer’ rather than assuming that all consumers are the same;
• move as many people as possible away from the mindset of consumption being the norm.