The UK government has unveiled several initiatives in a bid to tackle the environmental issues surrounding the fashion industry and support a sustainable future –  but what will it mean for retailers?

Last week, the government announced proposed measures to aid the progress of sustainable fashion, as it looks to “ramp up” action against fast fashion and hold the industry accountable for its environmental impact.

The measures come as part of a wider waste prevention programme for the whole of England under the Environmental Bill, which sets out how both the government and industries such as textiles, electricals and plastic manufacturers can work together to minimise waste and become more resource-efficient.

The strategy seeks to set minimum requirements for environmentally friendly design across manufacturing industries, uphold a “polluter pays” principle in which unsustainable manufacturers will be forced to pay extra costs, and require better labelling on products so consumers can make informed decisions about their consumption – detailing elements such as durability, reparability, recyclability, recycled content and environmental impact of its production. 

“We want to make a sustainable difference rather than deliver ad-hoc activity that can’t be measured and sustained over time”

Joe Little, F&F

In tandem with this, and specifically aimed at the fashion industry, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has launched the Textiles 2030 initiative, whose signatories will need to commit to certain targets.

This voluntary agreement will launch in April, building on the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan, which was signed by retailers such as Marks & Spencer and Asos last year, and invites retailers and brands to commit to “making rapid, science-based progress on circularity and climate action.”

Signatories to the initiative can either be members or partners, which have different levels of responsibility.

So far, signatories include Next, Primark, John Lewis, M&S, Ted Baker, JD Sports, Gymshark and grocers Tesco and Sainsbury’s, as well as support from the BRC and the British Fashion Council, among other organisations.

Taking action

All of those that sign up to the Textiles 2030 agreement must commit to meeting certain targets by 2030 such as a 30% reduction in water footprint and reducing their greenhouse gas emissions to align with limiting global warming to 1.5°C – all from a 2021 baseline.

As part of the initiative, partners will be asked to collaborate to create a roadmap to ensure a circular textiles industry, to improve clothing durability, recyclability and closed-loop recycling.

Those that are further along with their sustainability goals will also be able to trial circular projects such as resale business models or closing the loop on certain materials, through WRAP, government groups, and peer-to-peer collaborations.

Ambitions for the roadmap include that all products will be designed to be circular, more renewable raw materials will be used to make new products and more products will be sold for reuse than brand new in the UK.

“We can’t deliver circularity alone and whilst it is a global issue, product design, customer engagement and closing the loop requires UK action,”  F&F at Tesco head of sustainability Joe Little said.

“We want to make a sustainable difference rather than deliver ad-hoc activity that can’t be measured and sustained over time, and that’s where Textiles 2030 is uniquely placed to help us embed circularity at the heart of our business.”

To begin with, members are able to calculate their environmental impact using the Textiles 2030 footprint tool, profiling the carbon, water and waste footprint of each product.

The tool will then suggest model scenarios each retailer or manufacturer can undertake to improve their footprint, and each signatory will report on their progress to WRAP annually.

Urban Outfitters is one retailer that has decided to join as a member.

Head of technical Lindsay McKerchar said: “We’re relatively new to measuring the impact of our business but having access to the footprint calculator has given us confidence that we’re on the right track. The ability to run different scenarios has been a powerful tool enabling us to quantify the impacts of the sustainable changes we can and do make.” 

£30m has been allocated to help achieve this. UK Research and Innovation has been tasked with building five new research centres to develop circular supply chains, one of which will focus on textiles.

Individually, fashion retailers have been setting their own sustainability targets but government intervention will be able to set minimum requirements across the sector and incentivise retailers and brands to get involved.

Simple standards set out in the Environmental Bill’s Resources and Waste Strategy for England will be vital to starting a conversation in the industry and forming a base level of expectations, while steps like improving the labelling on garments will help consumers make more informed decisions about what they’re buying and their own personal environmental impact. 

WRAP’s programme goes one step further by ensuring collaboration across the fashion industry because sustainability should not be a source of competitive advantage, but a necessity.

Moreover, sustainability should not be the responsibility of the government, the industry, retailers or consumers alone but should be a collective action. 

While the initiative is a step in the right direction, Textiles 2030’s voluntary nature means it has its limitations and some of the fashion industry’s biggest offenders are noticeably absent from the signatory list.