Product roadmaps: Clothing
As part of our work on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP), we are developing ten product roadmaps to reduce the environmental and social impacts across the life cycle of a range of priority products. Clothing is one of these products.
Why clothing?
Evidence shows that clothing and textiles is a high impact product category, exacerbated by the high volumes of clothes we consume in the UK. Within the EU-25, clothing and textiles account for approximately 5-10 per cent of our environmental impacts (Source: European Commission (2006): Environmental Impact of Products). Without intervention and with growing consumption, these impacts are likely to increase.
Latest news
18 September 2009
An updated Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (PDF 379 KB) has been published to add in actions from new organisations committing to improve the sustainability of clothing, in addition to those already underway.
This brings the number of participants to 38 organisations implementing over 90 actions.
Case studies
As actions are completed, best practice case examples from the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan are published to inspire and facilitate similar environmental and ethical improvements in the wider clothing/fashion sector.
- Marks & Spencer Plan A 100 commitments (PDF 191 KB)
- Centre for Remanufacutring & Reuse (PDF 554 KB)
Scope of the roadmap
The clothing roadmap currently focuses on garments and includes textiles used in the manufacture of clothing, but excludes shoes, accessories and commercial textiles.
Improving sustainability
We will collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders to develop practical and effective actions to address the environmental and social impacts arising across the clothing life cycle.
We want to build on the work already underway across the clothing supply chain to make clothing more sustainable. The clothing roadmap will play an important role in capturing and highlighting current good practice and catalysing further work.
Activities
11 March 2009
Third Multi-stakeholder meeting 20 February 2009, London – event details and proceedings.
20 February 2009
As part of the Sustainable Clothing Roadmap industry initiative, the first Sustainable Clothing Action Plan was published, setting out agreed stakeholder actions from over 30 clothing and fashion stakeholder organisations to improve the sustainability performance of clothing.
November 2008
Publication of the “Public Understanding of Sustainable Clothing” report commissioned by Defra under the Clothing Roadmap on consumer perceptions and behaviour of sustainability and clothing. This will be of interest to stakeholder organisations aiming to influence or communicate with consumers about sustainability and clothing. A summary (PDF 150 KB) provides an overview of this project and the key findings.
March 2008
Second stakeholder event, improving the sustainability of clothing: summary note (PDF 150 KB) and second stakeholder event details
September 2007
First stakeholder event. improving the sustainability of clothing: briefing note (PDF 100 KB) and summary note (PDF 400 KB)
Impacts
- Defra briefing note: sustainability impacts and interventions of clothing (PDF 150 KB): summarises the key sustainability impacts of clothing and current initiatives in place. Based on Defra’s analysis of the evidence and on views gathered from the wide stakeholder engagement ongoing as part of the Clothing Roadmap
Environmental1&2 |
Social2 |
Ethical2 |
70 million tonnes of waste water generated in UK in 2006 Toxicity fertiliser, pesticide and herbicide use 1.5-2 million tonnes of waste generated in UK in 2006 and the hazardous waste and effluents associated with production Energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from:
|
Social impacts predominately occur in developing countries:
|
|
Consumption trends
UK clothing and textile consumption is high at approximately 2 million tonnes (value £38 billion) per annum over the period 1996-2005, consumer expenditure on clothing and textiles has grown 34 per cent, with predicted demand increases3
Further information
1Source: Defra (2006) Environment Statistics and Indicators
2Source: Defra (2007) ‘Mapping of Evidence on Sustainable Development Impacts that occur in the Life Cycles of Clothing’ (draft)
3Source: ONS (2005) Consumer Trends
Page last modified: 28 October 2009