Call for charge to stop clothes waste
‘Environmental price tag’ under attack
FASHION: A cross-party group of MPs has called for producers to be charged a penny per garment to fund better recycling and cut the “environmental price tag” of clothes.
They urged ministers to make retailers take responsibility for the waste they create and reward companies that take positive action.
A CROSS-PARTY group of MPs has called for fashion producers to be charged a penny per garment to fund better recycling and cut the “environmental price tag” of clothes.
The Environmental Audit Committee urged ministers to make retailers take responsibility for the waste they create and reward companies that take positive action.
In a report published today, they recommended “clear economic incentives” to encourage retailers to “do the right thing”, and suggested the Government reform taxation to reward companies that design products with lower environmental impacts and penalise those that do not.
They proposed extending the tax on virgin plastics, due to come into force in 2022, to synthetic textile products to encourage the use of recycled fibres. And they called on ministers to explore how they can support hiring, swapping or subscription clothes services.
The committee said an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for textiles could raise £35m for better clothing collection and sorting, which could create “green” jobs.
Their report, Fixing Fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability, also recommended retailers with a turnover of more than £36m be made to comply with environmental targets, as the voluntary approach to improving sustainability is “failing”. Wakefield MP Mary Creagh, chairwoman of the committee, said: “Fashion shouldn’t cost the earth. Our insatiable appetite for clothes comes with a huge social and environmental price tag: carbon emissions, wa- ter use, chemical and plastic pollution are all destroying our environment. In the UK we buy more clothes per person than any other country in Europe. ‘Fast fashion’ means we over consume and under use clothes. As a result, we get rid of over a million tonnes of clothes, with £140m worth going to landfill, every year.
“Fashion retailers must take responsibility for the clothes they produce. T
“hat means asking producers to consider and pay for the end of life process for their products through a new Extended Producer Responsibility scheme.
“The Government must act to end the era of throwaway fashion by incentivising companies that offer sustainable designs and repair services.
“Children should be taught the joy of making and mending clothes in school as an antidote to anxiety and the mental health crisis in teenagers. Consumers must play their part by buying less, mending, renting and sharing more.”
MPs on the committee noted that consumption of new clothing in the UK is estimated to be higher than any other European country – at 58.8lbs (26.7kg) per person.
They urged the Government to change the law to require companies to perform due diligence checks across supply chains to ensure products are made without child or forced labour. MPs stressed the “Made in the UK” label should mean workers are paid at least the minimum wage.
Our insatiable appetite for clothes comes with a huge price tag.
Mary Creagh, Wakefield MP and Environmental Audit Committee chairwoman.