58% of people hold clothing producers primarily responsible for the textile industry’s environmental and social impacts, Green Alliance polling showed.
The new polling by YouGov of over 2,000 adults in Britain, conducted on behalf of Green Alliance, found 30% of people want the fashion industry to use less polluting production practices, partner with charity shops, and end the destruction of unsold or returned goods.
The survey also showed 85% of respondents believe destroying unsold or returned clothing is wrong. 79% of respondents wanted to ban the destruction of these items.
The survey found people want more government action to address waste generated by the fashion industry. 83% of respondents supported setting standards to improve the environmental impact of textile production.
82% of people wanted targets for companies to reduce waste and 81% supported setting standards to ensure clothing is made to last for longer.
The Green Alliance report “Changing fashion: What people want from a greener clothing industry” recommended four steps for businesses to develop profitable reuse offerings and cut the amount of clothing being wasted.
The recommendations are to create appealing platforms, develop technologies to cut costs, partner with charities, and transition from “fast fashion” to a volume-led model.
As part of the report, Green Alliance also made three policy recommendations to government. These are for the UK government to ban the destruction of unsold goods, use extended producer responsibility (EPR) and standards more effectively, and set resource reduction targets for textiles and other high impact industries.
Green Alliance said “much better” EPR data is required to understand textile production, its impacts and the final destination of used textiles. The organisation also called for the government to use its powers to set targets for EPR schemes thrugh the Environment Act.
Green Alliance said the UK should use its resource efficiency powers under the Environment Act and set standards around the production impacts and the durability of textiles to ensure they remain suitable for reuse.
