Around 7.5% of the world’s fashion industry has signed up to a worldwide scheme which pledges to create a circular fashion economy.
The Global Fashion Agenda’s Call to Action for a Circular Fashion System encourages companies to increase the volume of used garments and recycled fabrics in their retail operations.
143 leading fashion brands and 64 companies have signed up so far, including the likes of Asos, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, Zara parent company Inditex and H&M.
The commitment involves defining a circular business strategy by the end of the year, creating targets for 2020 and publishing their progress. Each brand committed to one or more of the following action points;
- Implementing design strategy for cyclability (enabling re-use, upcycling and recycling)
- Increasing volume of garments collected
- Increasing resale of used garments
- Increasing use of recycled textile fabrics
Launched in May during the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, which focused on improving the sustainability of the global fashion and textile industry, the Call to Action was designed to react to the Pulse of the Fashion Industry report 2017. The report had found that “an accelerated effort is needed to capture important resources from being wasted and to meet future resource demands.”
It is estimated that currently only 15% of clothing is recycled by consumers, despite nearly all textiles being recyclable. Manufacturing the clothing required annually by an average household has an impact equivalent to filling 1,000 bathtubs with water, and driving an average modern car for 6,000 miles. 90% of the water footprint of UK clothing is made overseas.
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