Pic: GOV.UK
The UK government unveiled plans to reduce waste on Global Recycling Day on March 18. The plans, part of a new Waste Prevention Programme, include measures to ramp up action on fast fashion, hold manufacturers accountable for textile waste, steps to use resources more efficiently, design and manufacture products for optimum life and repair and reuse more items.
The new wide-ranging programme sets out how the government and industry can take action across seven key sectors—construction; textiles; furniture; electrical and electronics products; road vehicles; packaging, plastics and single-use items; and food—to minimise waste and work towards a more resource efficient economy.
Building on the landmark Resources & Waste Strategy, the government will consult stakeholders by the end of 2022 on options for textiles, such as an extended producer responsibility scheme, which would ensure the industry contributes to the costs of recycling, supported by measures to encourage better design and labelling. This will help to boost the reuse and recycling of textiles and reduce the environmental footprint of the sector.
The fashion industry is estimated to account for 4 per cent of annual global carbon emissions, while textiles production leads to greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the emissions of France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
A producer responsibility scheme for the textiles industry could boost reuse, better collections and recycling, drive the use of sustainable fibres, and support sustainable businesses models such as rental schemes, the government said in a release.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
The UK government unveiled plans to reduce waste on Global Recycling Day on March 18. The plans, part of a new Waste Prevention Programme, include measures to ramp up action on fast fashion, hold manufacturers accountable for textile waste, steps to use resources more efficiently, design and manufacture products for optimum life and repair/reuse more items.