Friday 22 June 2018

MPs launch inquiry into sustainability of fashion industry

MPs launch inquiry into sustainability of fashion industry

An inquiry into the sustainability of the fashion industry in the UK has been launched.

The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) will investigate the social and environmental impacts of disposable “fast fashion” and the wider clothing sector.

It will examine the carbon, resource use and water footprint of clothing through its lifecycle as well as look at how clothes can be recycled and the waste and pollution reduced.

The EAC says the production of clothing requires water and energy and some of the chemical dyes and coatings used are toxic and therefore contributes to climate change.

A 2017 report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation found if the global fashion industry continues on its current growth path, it could use more than a quarter of the world’s annual carbon budget by 2050.

EAC Chair Mary Creagh MP said: “Fashion shouldn’t cost the Earth but the way we design, make and discard clothes has a huge environmental impact. Producing clothes requires toxic chemicals and produces climate-changing emissions. Every time we put on a wash, thousands of plastic fibres wash down the drain and into the oceans. We don’t know where or how to recycle end of life clothing.

“Our inquiry will look at how the fashion industry can remodel itself to be both thriving and sustainable.”

The Committee is inviting views until 3rd September 2018.

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Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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