May 2023

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 24 may 2023

Textile industry has become highly globalized, contributes significantly to the global economy and provides employment to millions. The emergence of 'fast fashion' concept has further increased the production level, nearly doubling in the last 15 year period. The present textile industry system works in a linear way - raw material obtained from non-renewable sources, processed and clothes are produced in mechanised factories in large quantities, consumed for a short period and then disposed of in landfil or incinerated. This linear system is negatively impacting humans and environment - Excess of US$ 500 billion of value is lost every year due to clothing underutilisation and the lack of recycling; Total greenhouse gas emissions from textiles production, at 1.2 billion tonnes annually; When washed, some garments release plastic microfibres, of which around half a million tonnes every year contribute to ocean pollution. The project report, 'A NEW TEXTILES ECONOMY: REDESIGNING FASHION'S FUTURE' [Core Project Team: Andrew Morlet, Rob Opsomer, Dr. Sven Herrmann (Lead Author), Laura Balmond, Camille Gillet, Lukas Fuchs], published in 2017, outlines a vision for a system that works, delivering long-term benefits - a new textiles economy based on the principles of a circular economy. It offers a direction of travel on which the industry can agree and focus its efforts. In a new textiles economy, clothes, textiles, and fibres are kept at their highest value during use and re-enter the economy afterwards, never ending up as waste. Circular economy is a systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. It is based on three principles, driven by design: eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerate nature. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REPORT - Globally, the US$ 1.3 trillion clothing industry employs more than 300 million people along the value chain. Clothing - the focus of this report – represents more than 60% of the total textiles used and is expected to remain the largest application; The current clothing system is extremely wasteful and polluting. The recent Pulse of the fashion industry report estimated that the overall benefit to the world economy could be about EUR 160 billion (US$ 192 billion) in 2030 if the fashion industry were to address the environmental and societal fallout of the current status quo; Clothing is massively underutilised. Worldwide, clothing utilisation has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago. Globally, customers miss out on US$ 460 billion of value each year by throwing away clothes that they could continue to wear; Less than 1% of material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing, representing a loss of more than US$ 100 billion worth of materials each year; Today's linear system uses large amounts of resources and has negative impacts on the environment and people. The textiles industry relies mostly on non-renewable resources - 98 million tonnes in total per year - including oil to produce synthetic fibres, fertilisers to grow cotton, and chemicals to produce, dye, and finish fibres and textiles. Textiles production (including cotton farming) also uses around 93 billion cubic metres of water annually; Should growth continue as expected, total clothing sales would reach 160 million tonnes in 2050 - more than three times today's amount; If the industry continues on its current path, by 2050, it could use more than 26% of the carbon budget associated with a 2°C pathway; The Pulse of the fashion industry report projects that, by 2030, fashion brands would see a decline in earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins of more than three percentage points, if they were to continue business as usual. This would translate into a profit reduction of approximately EUR 45 billion (USD 52 billion) for the industry; Ambitions For A New Textiles Economy - (1) Phase out substances of concern and microfibre release (Align industry efforts and coordinate innovation to create safe material cycles; Drastically reduce plastic microfibre release). (2) Transform the way clothes are designed, sold, and used to break free from their increasingly disposable nature (Scale up short-term clothing rental; Make durability more attractive; Increase clothing utilisation further through brand commitments and policy). (3) Radically improve recycling by transforming clothing design, collection, and reprocessing (Align clothing design and recycling processes; Pursue technological innovation to improve the economics and quality of recycling; Stimulate demand for recycled materials; Implement clothing collection at scale); Make effective use of resources and move to renewable inputs. Read on...

Ellen Macarthur Foundation: A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning fashion's future
Author: NA