More than an accessory: the clothing industry takes action on sustainability

The UK clothing industry doesn’t exactly have a glowing record when it comes to sustainability. With 90 per cent of UK clothes sourced from abroad, stories of sweatshops and child labour in third world countries have blighted the industry over the years. And ethical issues haven’t ended at the borders of faraway countries. Only this January, Primark, the discount clothing chain beloved by bargain hunters, was being shamed over allegations that one of its UK suppliers, TNS Knitwear in Manchester, was employing illegal immigrants and paying them just over half the minimum wage.

Then there’s all that unwanted clothing: 1.5 million tonnes ending up in landfill every year, according to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The clothing and textiles industry’s annual carbon footprint stands at 3.1 million tonnes, and every year it produces two million tonnes of rubbish and wastes 70 million tonnes of water.

Last week, though, the industry committed to ridding itself of the culture of “throwaway fashion” with the launch of the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan at London Fashion Week.

The British Fashion Council, which organises London Fashion Week, underlined the importance it is now placing on sustainability by opening its five-day show not with a big, showy spectacle from a rising star, but with the launch of the Noir collection, one of the labels in its ethical designer fashion collection, Esthetica.

Backed by over 300 high street retailers, designers, textile manufacturers and the Government, the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan or Scap, aims to reduce the harmful lifecycle environmental and social impacts of clothing and textiles – from design, to manufacture, to retail, to disposal. Some of the big names that have so far signed up to the plan include Marks and Spencer (M&S), Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Adili, Nike, Continental Clothing and Oxfam.

Agreed actions from over 30 clothing and fashion organisations range from Tesco banning cotton from countries that use child labour to M&S investing in eco factories in its supply chain and Oxfam and other charities opening new shops promoting good quality second-hand and new design from recycled garments. There’s even talk of a clothing sustainability ‘league table’ to promote best practice in the industry.

When the action plan was launched last Friday, Lord Philip Hunt, Minister for Sustainability, described it as a plan to “change the face of fashion.”

Dilys Williams, director of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion, describes the plan as a “fantastic platform” from which to work collaboratively across industry. “It has provided a certain amount of positive competitiveness across brands, manufacturers and designers, who all want to be named on it,” she says.

According to Defra, which is helping to coordinate Scap through its Sustainable Clothing Roadmap, the action plan is addressing four key areas:

1. Improving environmental performance across the supply chain, from the design through to end of life management and clothes cleaning

2. Raising awareness about the sustainability of clothes through the media, education and networks

3. Promoting markets for sustainable clothing; and

4. Improving environmental, ethical, and trade traceability along the supply chain.

Because so many of the clothes sold in the UK are imported, improving the supply chain is seen as key to the whole project’s success. “It is critical that we work with partners and companies abroad to share best practice and expertise,” says a Defra spokesperson. “Many of the actions in the plan reflect this – for example, Defra endorses the work WWF Hong Kong has undertaken to develop its low carbon clothing labelling system that helps buyers identify clothes that create fewer emissions in the Pearl River Delta region in South China.”

In the next few weeks, as part of Scap, Continental Clothing says it will be launching the first ever Carbon Reduction Label for clothing products with the aim of informing the consumer of the impact of their clothes on climate change from raw materials to manufacturing, as well as their own through retail choice, washing, drying, ironing and disposal.

“Defra’s Sustainable Clothing Roadmap rightly considers informing, educating and influencing consumers as a critical factor on the road to a sustainable products market,” says Mariusz Stochaj, head of Products at Continental Clothing. “We are proud to play a part in this drive by providing consumers with accurate, factual information, and by inviting other brands and retailers to use our experience.”

With so many clothes ending up in landfill, Scap is also putting a big onus on recycling. This includes encouraging the public not to throw clothes in the bin but instead sending them to be recycled, as well as initiatives such as M&S’ use of recycled plastic bottles to make polyester in ranges of fleeces.

The retailer, which has contributed thirteen commitments from its own sustainability plan, Plan A, to the roadmap, is also working with Oxfam on a clothes exchange, whereby consumers who bring back M&S clothing to Oxfam shops through the exchange receive a £5 M&S voucher redeemable against a £35 spend on clothing, home or beauty products at M&S. It claims that in its first year, the scheme has led to over three million garments being re-used that could have otherwise gone to landfill and has raised £1.8 million for charity work.

“The successful M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange is already helping to save millions of garments from landfill and we are keen to share information on initiatives like [it],” comments Mike Barry, head of CSR at M&S.

Oxfam, meanwhile, says it aims to open more sustainable clothing “boutiques” around the country in 2009 highlighting the importance of sustainability, in particular the good value and environmental sense in re-using clothing.

But in terms of making positive changes to consumer habits on social and environmental issues around clothing, those likely to have the maximum impact are the supermarkets and the  ‘value’ retailers, such as Primark, which defied the retail gloom in November, when it reported a four per cent growth in its sales. But while big players such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s are signed up, Primark, perhaps unsurprisingly given its poor record on ethical issues, is not yet signatory to Scap, while Asda, another major value clothes retailer, is only "taking part in discussions" on the steering group at the moment.

A Defra spokesperson said Scap was “in discussion with retailers who have not yet signed up to the action plan, including Primark” and would welcome new actions and new signatories “at any time”.

Another point to bear in mind about Scap is that it is a voluntary action plan, which hasn’t set targets on achieving industry-wide sustainability. Nor does it have any real teeth in terms of imposing penalties for those that do not fulfil their commitments. So could a worsening economic climate actually lead to some of these actions and good intentions being downgraded or not fulfilled at all?

Williams of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion thinks not. “The economic downturn has actually accelerated the change. Big business is making commitments and the consumer mindset, customer behaviour and designers – all of these are changing,” she says.

However, Williams acknowledges that as well as Scap, the industry will need “some structures and systems” put in place by the Government in the form of legislation and taxation, to ensure that this vision for the future sustainability of the clothing industry really does emerge.

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