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This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
A fashion industry push to reduce the environmental impact of the clothing it sells is being undermined by an ongoing addiction to buying new clothes, with the average British person buying 28 items every year.
Asos and Primark are among the big names signed up to Wrap’s voluntary environmental pact, Textiles 2030.
While the companies involved have managed to reduce both the carbon intensity and volume of water per metric ton used in their clothing manufacture, in its annual progress report, published today, the climate action NGO warns of hard-won gains being “canceled out” because clothing production is “spiraling upwards.”
Textiles and fashion are responsible for up to 10 percent of global carbon emissions. Catherine David, Wrap’s director of behavior change and business programs, said the progress made by 130 brands and retailers involved showed “it’s possible to change this.” But that at the moment, “as fast as positive improvements happen, they’re canceled out by rising production.”
The companies had reduced the carbon impact of their textiles by 12 percent and water by 4 percent (on a per-ton basis) between 2019 and 2022. However, this was negated by a 13 percent increase in the volume of textiles produced and sold, according to the report. The increased production rates meant overall water use actually rose by 8 percent over the period, while the carbon reduction figure stood at just 2 percent.
Since production is obviously related to consumption, David said consumers had a part to play. “We’re working with companies to improve clothes, but the other part