A Critical Evaluation of Environmental and Social Sustainability in Arcadia Group ‘Fashion Footprint’ Programme A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MSc Environment and Sustainable Development Word count: 10,105 Shantanu Prasad Baruva Development Planning Unit University College London 15 th September 2014
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A Critical Evaluation of Environmental and
Social Sustainability in Arcadia Group
‘Fashion Footprint’ Programme
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MSc
Environment and Sustainable Development
Word count: 10,105
Shantanu Prasad Baruva
Development Planning Unit
University College London
15th
September 2014
2
Table of Content
Introduction 4
Background 5
Literature Review 7
Methodology 15
Case of the Sustainable Clothing
Roadmap
17
Case of Arcadia Group: Fashion
Footprint
23
Conclusion 35
Bibliography 38
Appendices 42
3
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank my supervisor Liza Griffin for her guidance and support
throughout the dissertation process. I would like to acknowledgement London
Collage of Fashion to let me use their library and Development Planning Unit for
their help. I would to specially like to thank Nanadini Baruva, Padminee
Chaliha, Thomas Skeen and Martina Heuser for their support and
encouragement.
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Introduction
According to the Guardian, ‘Fast Fashion’ is defined as a “contemporary term used by
fashion retailers to express that designs move from catwalk quickly in order to capture
current fashion trends. Trends are designed and manufactured quickly and cheaply to
allow the mainstream consumer to take advantage of current clothing styles at a lower
price”. The main idea behind fast fashion is quicker production in a cost-efficient
manner. Marketing is key within the fast fashion industry. It has been argued by some
scholers that the success of fast fashion has outputs at different stages of production
and supply chain. Due to the fast moving nature of the industry, there is increased
pressure at different levels of the supply chain to deliver high quantities of products
within a stricter time frame. The impact of this pressure is highlighted in the Rana
Plaza tragedy. The clothing industry is extremely important for the economic
development of many countries of the Global South. Due to loopholes in regulation,
there have been many incidents such as industrial disaster, slave labour, child labour
and abuse, to name a few. Due to the extended reach of media and globalisation,
awareness of such incidents occurring in the Global South is reaching the consumers
of the North. Hence, consumers are becoming more aware about the product they are
using. Fashion firms are making extra effort to work with the countries of Global
South in order to bring in changes which are socially sustainable, recognising the
value of the factory worker.
This thesis looks into the extent to which Arcadia Group contributes meaningfully
towards environmental and social sustainability with their programme of ‘fashion
footprint’. The thesis simultaneously looks into the government-led, industry-
supported Sustainable Clothing Action Plan, (SCAP), which is the main programme
in U.K. aimed at making the fashion sector more sustainable and most of the high
street fashion brands are its signatories. The question this thesis addresses is: to what
extent does corporate social responsibility (CSR) contribute meaningfully towards
environmental and social sustainability with reference to ‘fashion footprint’
programme and SCAP?
The thesis uses literature on sustainable development, CSR and greenwash, focussing
on Baker’s model of sustainable development, Dahlsrud’s dimensions of CSR, UL’s
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seven sins of greenwash and Moon’s drivers of CSR. This is followed by a case study
of SCAP and the ‘fashion footprint’ programme of Arcadia Group in context of the
literature used, concluding with an alternate perspective on the achievement of
sustainability within the fashion industry.
Background
In the UK, around two million tonnes of clothing are purchased per annum, with the
fast/discount fashion sector (characterised by low cost, short lifetime garments)
making up one-fifth of the UK market. We discard approximately one million tonnes
of unwanted clothing a year – 50% of which ends up in landfill. As 90% of the UK’s
clothing is imported, our activities have a significant overseas “footprint”, particularly
in India, China and other developing countries (Maxwell, 2010).
The garment industry in Bangladesh has grown unregulated during the last two
decades. Today around 4 million workers are involved within the garment industry
and it is the single most important export industry. There are around 5,000 factories
within the sector and in total the industry is valued at around 450 billion dollars. The
garment industry provides independence for women, as most of the employees in the
sector are women, constituting more than 80% of the workforce. However, owing to
the fact that they are at the bottom of the supply chain, they have to deal with long
working hours and low levels of pay (High St Fashion: Weaving New Threads, 2014).
An example for a garment plant disaster is the Rana Plaza tragedy that took place on
24 April 2013 in Dhaka, Bangladesh killing 1,138 people and injuring more than
2,500. The building had planning permission to build up to two floors, but in fact had
six floors constructed with foundations, which were not strong enough to support the
structure. As a result of the disaster the government shut down 18 garment plants
immediately (BBC, 2013).
As a result of the Rana Plaza disaster, more than 100 retailers and brands, including
Arcadia, Marks & Spencer, Next and Primark, have signed up to a legally binding
deal to help improve factory safety in Bangladesh known as the “Accord on Fire and
Building Safety in Bangladesh”. Those brands that are involved contribute £309,718 a
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year towards inspections and training to improve safety. The group has the backing of
international union IndustriALL and is supported by workers' rights pressure groups
including the Clean Clothes Campaign. The group is also working with the
Bangladeshi government to support in funding any repairs required at unsafe factories
brought to light by the inspection and committed to providing whatever money is
required to get the job done (Butler, 2013).
‘Fashion’ can be differentiated from ‘clothing’, with the former being a personal
symbolic statement whereas latter denotes everyday basic garments. In the UK, on
average a party top is only worn 1.7 times. A high street retailer claimed
anonymously that during the recession, their profit increased by 30 percent. During
the same time, the conditions of the workers in the factories worsened: many workers
experience abuse such as being beaten, sexually harassed, shouted out, and bullied.
The fashion industry is highly consumeristic in nature. The consumer attitude and
behaviour plays an important role in order for brands to innovative and create new
products (Busch, 2012).
The supply chain within the fashion industry is buyer driven. Retailers constantly
change what they sell in their shops to make consumers return to the shop again and
again. If deadlines are not met due to delays in the factories, the cost associated with
this is borne by the factories themselves. To improve the conditions in the factory, the
costs should be passed on to the consumers. According to Tau Investment
Management, if we wait for consumers to make change, then it is already too late
(BBC Radio 4, 2014).
In the UK, and particularly in London, there has been a rise of billboards, especially
those which are illumined or feature video displays. This is an important way to gain
attention and for retailers to spread their message, especially to working professionals.
Advertising within the fashion industry uses a top down approach, and the message is
often conveyed to consumers through the use of celebrity or language of passion and
addiction (Neuberg, 2012).
Sustainable fashion, also known as ‘Eco Chic’ is a combination of four factors:
economic, ecological, social and cultural; i.e. using a holistic approach, economic,
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ecological, social and cultural factors can achieve sustainability at different stages of
the supply chain, ranging from high street consumers to labourers in the global south.
Are brands on Bond Street and 5th
Avenue helping to achieve sustainable livelihoods
within the producer communities of the global south, where there is institutional
corruption, grey labour law and improper implementation of regulations (Black,
2013).
The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) produces The Sustainable
Clothing Action Plan (SCAP), a government funded organisation, aiming to improve
sustainability within the clothing and fashion sector by bringing together government,
industry and the third sector. It involved major retailers, recyclers, brands, sector
bodies and charities and has four working groups: design, reuse and recycle,
influencing consumer behaviour and metrics. They have a SCAP 2020 target, aiming
to reduce the environmental footprint within the sector. Some of the retailers included
are Arcadia Group, ASOS, John Lewis, New Look, Next, Sainsbury's, Stella
McCartney, Ted Baker and the Centre for Sustainable Fashion (London College of
Fashion) (SCAP, 2014).
Literature Review
Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR can be defined as “an attempt to achieve
commercial success in ways that honors ethical value and respect people,
communities and natural environment” (Bhattacharya and Sen 2004). Most studies of
CSR look into consumer satisfaction and is an important part of an organisation with
large budgets. CSR policies and communications are supposed to be the core of the
company’s ethical perception and social legitimacy. According to empirical research,
there is a negative impact on the company for any alleged irresponsible acts whereas
there is a positive impact if the company is reliable and responsible. CSR can be
classified into controlled and un-controlled. Controlled CSR is company-planned
communications, designed to create brand equity. Un-controlled CSR is through word
of mouth, NGOS, and mass media communications, on which the company has no
control. External sources of information, from the media, consumer groups and NGOs
about the CSR activities of a company, play a vital role in shaping the future CSR
activities of a company (Parguel et al 2014).
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Today for business, social, political and environmental factors are the drivers of CSR
actions around the world. According to some authors, firms are undertaking much
more responsibility to do social good, more than simply what is required by the law.
Environmentally responsible business practices are increasing due to the firms want to
do good, which benefits the society. According to research on environmental
management practices by companies, companies are increasing the amount of
activities in order to decrease their impact to the environment while adapting steps for
efficient environmental management. Among the environmental, social and economic
pillars of CSR, natural environment is increasing its momentum and its importance.
Organisations are using paradigm to maintain a relationship with the natural and
social environment around them (Shrivastava, 1995). Voluntary acts, such as
reduction of waste and emissions from operations, involvement in voluntary
environmental restoration, eco-design practices, and the extent to which an
organisation conserves natural resources shows the environmental concerns of the
company by addressing environmental responsibilities. Regulation and social
responsibility for the environment is governed by legal and social requirements for
corporate environmental management addressing the environmental impact. The
literature suggests organisations develop environmental strategy through a complex
web of the requirements of customers, shareholders, investors or employees, turning
environmentalism from an external factor of market to a core objective of the firm.
More recently market attitudes also drive the environmental interest in CSR. It is
reported that environmental performance development leads to improved financial
performance of the firm, for the stakeholder, environment has become the most
important of concerns for a company’s CSR strategies (Babiak and Trendafilova,
2011).
It is uncertain in both the corporate and academic worlds as to how CSR should be
defined. According to Van Marrewijk (2003) it is often based on the companies’
specific interest, which in turn does not allow the concept to develop and implement
itself. In other words the companies are biased in nature. But in having said so there is
no evidence to support the same as there is no such methodology that has been coined
to verify the biasness. The question that arises now is how to understand CSR by the
way it is defined. The social, environmental and economic dimensions are merely
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different categories of impacts from business. In all the definitions, CSR is described
as phenomenon rather than the social responsibilities of business (Marrewijk, 2003).
In definition, firstly, CSR has often been linked with different fundamental strategic
purposes like legitimacy, responsibility for externality, and competitive advantage.
Then again there is a variation according to its substantive content. Thirdly, there may
be variation in the approach method employed to identify responsibilities and assess
the practices, especially the policies that are stakeholder oriented or around which
moral ethics or values have been developed (Clarkson, 1995).
Both CSR and sustainable development are considered as valued and not just simply
experimental concepts. It is considered a good quality of an organisation or an activity
to be socially responsible or for manifesting sustainable development. Having said
that, there is a high possibility that organisations or activities be described in terms of
trying to build their image. Since each stakeholder brings with it different principles
and opportunities, which in turn gives rise to many different values and expectations
in relation to the corporation they are connected with, there is a sense of pressure felt
in CSR in trying to balance different economic, legal, ethical and social
responsibilities. By definition, sustainability plans to address the effects of the usage
of ecological dependency and planetary wide social or local behaviours (Moon,
2007).
This process identified five dimensions, namely the environmental dimension based
on the natural environment, the social dimension based on the relation between
business and society, the economic dimension based on economic development, the
stakeholder dimension based on the interaction with their stakeholders and lastly
voluntariness dimension based on ethical values. Even though the environmental
dimension is considered a part of CSR, it has received a significantly lower dimension
ratio than the other dimensions. The question that arises now is how to understand
CSR by the way it is defined. The social, environmental and economic dimensions are
merely different categories of impacts from business. In all the definitions, CSR is
described as phenomenon rather than social responsibilities of business. It can be
concluded that among the many definitions of CSR that are available there is one
thing that is common and that is that they consistently refer to the five dimensions.
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Although the definitions describe a phenomenon, they fail to present any guidelines as
to how to manage the challenges within this phenomenon. Therefore, the prime
challenge for business is not to define CSR, but to understand how CSR is socially
constructed and how to develop business strategies taking the social dimension into
account (Dahlsrud, 2008).
Application of both CSR and sustainable development has always been a part of
debate as to their meaning as these two are essentially contested concepts. There is an
argument as to what the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has to offer,
as it compels corporations to act responsible socially which in turn includes
contributions to the agenda of sustainable development. CSR has often been criticised
for its conventional argument that managers’ main responsibilities are towards the
shareholders and that governments bear the responsibility for social well-being. The
best way to understand CSR is by looking at it as a component of new systems of
societal governance. Through a theoretical model of business strategy based upon the
resource and through examples of business policies of a firm, the application of
sustainable development agenda can be indicated (Moon, 2007)
A number of CSR consultants, whose main aim, are not only to promote CSR but also
to bring a critical perspective and to elevate current CSR standards. The consultants,
along with many consumer groups and NGOs have divided the drivers of CSR to the
following (Chapple and Moon, 2005; Kolk, 2005; Moon, 2004).
Market Drivers
Market is the main source of the CSR policies of a firm. The firm’s main
focus is to increase market share and increase the return on investment and
they determine the firm’s CSR activities.
Social Drivers
Even though it is apparent that consumers, employees and investors are
noticeable social drivers, NGO pressure, media attention, general social
expectations and business associations and coalitions for CSR are also worth
mentioning.
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Governmental Drivers
Governments can give support to socially responsible business at the most
basic level, as it was illustrated by former Conservative Secretary of State for
the Environment, Michael Heseltine, who addressed the issues of
unemployment and urban decay in the early 1980s and encouraged the
business leaders to take up these issues. It is worth mentioning that the
government in the UK is a leader in having a Ministry for CSR and a minister
who formulate various policies and initiatives to persuade companies to be
more socially responsible.
Globalisation
Globalisation opportunities for business organisations develop new labor
markets, social principles, and protection of natural resources. But ironically,
globalisation also generates fresh imperatives for business legitimacy across
borders, which can drive the CSR activities of the business.
This has generated a number of new types of business behavior in order to manage
and report CSR. In order to enable themselves, individually, for better articulation and
implementation of CSR across various countries where they operate and have their
global supply chains, companies are developing many corporate codes. Jointly, the
companies are signing up to organisations such as the UN Global Compact and the
International Business Leaders Forum in order to advance the CSR system. Through
the Global Reporting Initiative some companies have gone as far as to agree to report
their international CSR. Research shows that companies that work across boundaries,
are those that pay more attention to their CSR, as opposed to companies who operate
only in one country, and are also concerned about the local CSR agenda (Chapple and
Moon, 2005).
Sustainable Development as defined by the Brundtland Commission "development
that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs." The United Nations Millennium Declaration
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identified principles and treaties on sustainable development, environmental
protection, social development, and economic development (Burton, 1987).
The term sustainable development can be interpreted to have a diverse range of
meanings. There are different approaches of policy imperative with the promotion of
the concept of sustainable development. The different approaches give an indication
of how different corporations, organizations, and individuals consider the
environment. These can be classified into the ladder of sustainable development
ranging from the ‘ideal model’, which is highly eco-centric to ‘pollution control’
being highly anthropocentric. (Baker, 2006)
Wahba (2008) explored the relationship between institutional investors and
environmental responsibility and found that environmental responsibility has a
significant positive effect on investors, when the financial performance was high. It is
suggested that if the top levels of management are committed to the environment, it
influences the whole organisation to develop different types of environmental
practices for the whole corporation. Most businesses are recognising and actively
paying attention to the strategic prospect of doing environmental good. Businesses
understand the negative impact they have caused on the environment, and addressing
the problem with advertising, legal resource and build relationship with key
stakeholders that can help them to save money. The environmental and social
challenge is multidimensional and so complex that businesses need to work with
NGOs and governments to reach a sustainable solution. Environmentally focused
CSR for many organisations is valued as driver which cannot be seen in traditional
financial terms. CSR can be seen as a source of innovation, opportunity and
competitive advantage rather than constraint, cost or charitable deed. The media plays
an important role in scrutinising the business. Businesses see using the doing good
environmental deeds as a method of creating positive public perception, especially
with consumers favouring ‘go green’ policies, hence promoting green initiatives,
building goodwill and potentially increasing their customer base (Babiak and
Trendafilova, 2011).
Companies, which employ a self-benefit CSR positioning, showed a result where the
consumers were more likely to buy their products. It was also found that the effect of
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the CSR beneficiary positioning on purchase intention depended up on product type,
situation, and self-monitoring level. People pay more attention to information about
companies’ CSR efforts, especially when the management motivation impression is
high lightened. As a way to fulfil the companies social obligations and to enhance
their profit and sustainability and also because consumers have increased their
interests in CSR, companies are actively investing in CSR activities.
There are hints in some existing research that whenever there is a conflict or
difference of interest between consumers, who prefer to purchase high quality
product, and social, who prefer to purchase pro-social products, the consumer
hesitates to sacrifice their own interest for social interest (De Cremer and Van Dijk,
2002). So that the CSR information is considered as relevant to be used by consumers
in making their purchase decisions, more effort must be put forward to find ways that
will allow the consumers to make informed choices.
When a company lacks the capability or innovativeness to indulge or participate in
meaningful CSR activities, the satisfaction level of a consumer also decreases. When
the CSR domain of the company is related with the company’s existing products or
when the CSR domain is related with corporate capability, it has a positive effect on
the purchase decision of the consumer. The reason behind this is that the ethicality of
a company is positively or negatively associated with the gentleness and strength
related attributes of the product (Kim, et al., 2014). It is because of these two reasons
that the efforts of CSR have little effect on the decision making process of the
consumer. While the focus of pro-social consumers’ purchase is on altruistic goals
pursuing social or public interest, consumers’ purchase behavior inherently focuses on
selfish goals pursuing their own interests. Unless consumers are inherently altruistic
or have a high regard for ethical consumption, consumers generally purchase products
for their family, friends or for themselves (Collins et al., 2007). Based on an
accessibility-diagnostically framework, there are some researchers that suggest that
the association of CSR in purchase decision is not diagnostic in nature and does not
lead to purchasing, whereas a company’s capability association is diagnostic in nature
and thus leads to purchasing (Kim, et al, 2014).
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Dahl, in his 2010 paper “Greenwashing: do you know what you’re buying” claims
companies are regularly promoting their image through ‘greenness’ marketing, where
they make overblown or unwarranted claims about environmental friendliness or
sustainability in order to increase their market share. This is not a new phenomenon,
but it is on the increase due to today’s consumers being more environmentally
conscious. This leads to confusion among the public, and critics regarding greenwash
as harmful. It is suggested that it is possible for a clean company to achieve green
marketing by incorporating with an environmental management system, with a
detailed environmental programme which is inline to ISO 14001. A company can also
take part in Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a widely used corporate reporting
framework.
There are various things that have greatly influenced the evolution of the fashion
apparel industry over the past decade, one being the expansion of the world across
boundaries. Fading of mass production, modified structural characteristics in the
supply chain, desire for low cost and flexibility in design, quality, delivery, and speed
to market are also some of the factors which have influenced the ever changing
dynamics of the fashion industry. There is an indication that a competitive edge can
be gained by the retailers in the market if they ensure speed by providing fashion
trends rapidly to the consumers, as a result of which the time gap between designing
and consumption on a seasonal basis will be reduced and in turn result in the adoption
of ‘quick fashion’. Fast fashion, similar to the concept of quick response, has been
defined as a business strategy that aims to shrink the processes involved in the buying
cycle and lead times for getting new fashion product into stores, in order to satisfy
consumer demand at its peak (Barnes and Lea-Greenwood 2006).
By actually creating the demand, fast-fashion retailers achieve higher turnover. This
strategy is achieved by creating many more products in smaller quantities by the
retailers, a strategy which is not applied by traditional retailers. A sense of urgency is
created in the minds of the customer when the product which is sold, is replaced, not
with more of what was originally sold out but by a ‘new’ style. The
internationalisation process or the process of increasing involvement of retailers in
international markets of fashion retailers is another important reason for the ever-
changing dynamics of the fashion industry. Studies have been conducted to analyse
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whether it’s a ‘Born-global’ retailers (e.g. Zara) or a ‘Gradual global’ retailer (e.g.
GAP and H&M), the rate of movements for trends and product is extremely fast and
works with tight time frame (Bhardwaj et al., 2011).
Methodology
Using the Model of Sustainable Development by Susan Baker, this thesis will try to
analyse the position of Arcadia Group and SCAP programme. The four modes can be
understood as the following
Model of sustainable development Type of development
Ideal model Right livelihood; meeting needs not
wants; biophysical limit to development
Strong sustainable development Change into patterns and levels of
consumption; shift from growth to non-
material aspect of development;
necessary development of third world
Weak sustainable development Decoupling; reuse, recycle, and repair of
consumer goods; product life-cycle
management
Pollution control Exponential, market-led growth
Source: Adapted from Baker, 2006
The definition of CSR is debatable as there is a degree of uncertainty in the definition,
which is used within the academic and corporate arenas. The definition can be biased
towards specific interest of the group, in accordance with what they are looking to
achieve. However, the use of term CSR by different organisations can be put into five
dimensions (Dahlsrud, 2008):
The Dimensions The definitions
The environmental Working for the betterment of the natural
environment
The social Working for the betterment of the relation
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ships between business and society
The economic Working towards socio-economic aspects
or financial gain, including describing
CSR in terms of a business operation
The stakeholder Working for a better relationship with the
stakeholders or stakeholder
The voluntariness Working on actions not prescribed by law
Source: Adapted from Dahlsrud, 2008
The dimensions from the above table will be used to understand the stand Arcadia
Group and SCAP programme have on their CSR activities.
According to Care2, the world’s largest online community for healthy and green
living, it is not possible within the fashion industry to be sustainable. Brands use
greenwash as a tool mixed within their CSR activities and communication material.
The ‘Seven Sins of Greenwashing’ published by UL, a global independent safety
science company, highlight seven ways how a business or firm conducts greenwash..
This will be used to analyse the Arcadia’s ‘fashion footprint’ programme.
The Seven Sins of Greenwashing
1. Sin of the hidden trade-off: committed by suggesting a product is “green”
based on an unreasonably narrow set of attributes without attention to other
important environmental issues (e.g., paper produced from a sustainably
harvested forest may still yield significant energy and pollution costs).
2. Sin of no proof: committed by an environmental claim that cannot be
substantiated by easily accessible supporting information or by a reliable
third-party certification (e.g., paper products that claim various percentages of
postconsumer recycled content without providing any evidence).
3. Sin of vagueness: committed by every claim that is so poorly defined or broad
that its real meaning is likely to be misunderstood by the consumer (e.g., “all-
natural”).
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4. Sin of irrelevance: committed by making an environmental claim that may be
truthful but is unimportant or unhelpful for consumers seeking
environmentally preferable products (e.g., “CFC-free” is meaningless given
that chlorofluorocarbons are already banned by law).
5. Sin of lesser of two evils: committed by claims that may be true within the
product category, but that risk distracting the consumer from the greater health
or environmental impacts of the category as a whole (e.g., organic cigarettes).
6. Sin of fibbing: committed by making environmental claims that are simply
false (e.g., products falsely claiming to be Energy Star certified).
7. Sin of false labels: committed by exploiting consumers’ demand for third-
party certification with fake labels or claims of third-party endorsement (e.g.,
certification-like images with green jargon such as “eco-preferred”).
Source Sinsofgreenwashing.org
In the following, the SCAP is being analysed with Baker’s ladder of sustainable
development and the Arcadia’s ‘fashion footprint’ programme with Baker’s ladder of
sustainable development and Dahlsrud dimensions of CSR and UL’s seven sins of
greenwashing.
The case of the Sustainable Clothing Roadmap
In 2007, the Sustainable Clothing Roadmap or Plan (SCAP) was launched by Waste
& Resources Action Programme (WRAP), with the aim of improving the
sustainability of clothing across its lifecycle, ranging from the crops that are grown to
make the fabrics, to the design and manufacture of the garment, its retail, use and end
of life. An ambitious aim, but one which is necessary because clothing, whilst an
economic success story globally worth £500 billion, has a significant environmental
and social footprint across its supply chain. High consumption levels, especially in the
developed world, exacerbate this. The roadmap is based on the co-ordinated action of
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key clothing and fashion stakeholders – the people best placed to make effective
improvements throughout their operations.
Starting from a baseline year of 2012, SCAP Signatories have committed to the
following by the end of 2020:
15% reduction in carbon footprint;
15% reduction in water footprint;
15% reduction in waste to landfill; and
3.5% reduction in waste arising over the whole product life cycle.
The seven action areas of the commitment
1. Use a common assessment tool to measure our baseline position and track changes
in footprint over time.
2. Reduce the environmental footprint of clothing through fibre and fabric selection.
3. Over the longer term work with our supply chain partners to reduce the
environmental footprint of their processes.
4. Extend the useful life of clothes and reduce the environmental impact of clothing in
use through our product design and services.
5. Develop effective messaging to influence key consumer behaviours which will
reduce the environmental footprint of clothing.
6. Increase re-use and recycling to recover maximum value from used clothing.
7. Develop actions that help keep clothes out of landfill.
Source: Adapted from SCAP 2020, 2014
Relating the concept of sustainability to clothing means that ideally this would be
clothing which meets the needs of today’s consumers, and is also made, transported,
sold, used and disposed in ways which do not adversely impact people or the planet –
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now or at any time in the future. In practice, achieving this is not straightforward. It
involves trade-offs between different impacts and working out how to prioritise
improvements. The environmental impacts involved in the manufacture of clothing
vary significantly. For example, cotton growth involves significant water use, toxicity
from fertiliser, pesticide and herbicide use, whereas production of synthetic fibres
involves the generation of GHG emissions from the processing of fossil fuels. For all
fibres the dyeing and finishing processes can involve heavy water use resulting in
hazardous waste from pre-treatment chemicals.
The Sustainable Clothing Roadmap has a wide remit in order to ensure that the
relevant data is gathered and that the concept of sustainable clothing is understood in
its fullest sense. As the roadmap develops, it is tightening its focus and working to
agree actions to tackle a series of more defined ‘hot spots’ within the clothing
lifecycle. The Sustainable Clothing Roadmap concept is about bringing together
relevant sector expertise to understand the full picture and develop co-ordinated
action.
Sustainable Design: Promoting Sustainable India
Sustainable Fashion explored and shared knowledge on sustainable design practice. In
India, the industry is a large net foreign exchange earner and a major employment
provider. From poverty wages to water and pesticide use in cotton farming, there is a
wide range of challenging sustainability issues related to the country’s industry.
However, there are also growing numbers of suppliers developing better practices.
This project, involving designers, suppliers of Indian textiles, buyers and
undergraduates from the London College of Fashion, Pearl Academy of Fashion
Delhi and the Amsterdam Fashion Institute aimed to build capacity and explore
market opportunities for using more sustainable Indian textiles. The project developed
an online sourcing toolkit and textile catalogue to help UK-based fashion businesses
develop productive relationships with Indian suppliers and successfully source
sustainable textiles.
This project focused on demonstrating the environmental and business case for eco-
efficiency in Indian dye houses that supply the UK clothing market. Dyeing is
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recognized as being a high impact process that consumes large quantities of water,
energy, and chemicals, and the dyeing industry is known to be one of the major global
polluters. The project selected three dye houses of differing abilities to work with in
order to reduce the amount of water, energy, and chemicals used to dye their products.
Motivating dye house staff to improve processes and data gathering were challenges,
but a key finding was that it is possible to significantly reduce costs and
environmental impacts by simple, low cost actions. In order to maximize progress
though, some capital investment is necessary. Three best practice seminars were held
in India to share the findings with the wider dyeing industry.
Source: Maxwell, 2010
Based on the evidence obtained, the roadmap participants agreed on five key action
areas:
1) Improving environmental performance across the supply chain
2) Consumption trends and behavior
3) Awareness, media, education, and networks
4) Creating market drivers
5) Traceability across the supply chain (ethics, trade, and environment)
At the end of 2010, WRAP commissioned an independent evaluation of the
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and WRAP initiated
voluntary agreements, including the Sustainable Clothing Roadmap. Catalysing
debate and increasing consumer understanding of the concept of sustainable clothing
is also a key part of the roadmap process. Clothing made from certified organic
cotton, recycled polyester clothing and Fair Trade certified clothes are all examples of
actions being taken to improve the sustainability of clothing. Although varying in
levels of sustainability improvement, these kinds of examples help consumers become
aware of their purchases and what their choices mean for the wider world.
This is a global challenge, and the UK is not alone in seeking solutions to the issues
surrounding sustainable clothing. Work continues with international partners to push
for greater action in supplier countries. As population figures rise and prosperity
increases around the globe, the demand for commodities will escalate and only those
21
sectors and businesses within them who are preparing for this future will remain
prosperous. Profitability and sustainability can no longer be seen as irreconcilable
forces, but inextricably linked.
Signatory measuring and reporting: measuring progress is a tool developed under
SCAP. Using the SCAP Footprint Calculator, Signatories can calculate and keep a
track of their baseline carbon, water, and waste footprints. Since reporting is an
annual process, the signatories will be able to use the SCAP Footprint Calculator to
calculate their carbon, water and waste footprints in a reliable and steady way.
Through an auto-generated form by the calculator, signatories will be able to report
on their progress.
Year-on-year improvement:
With revised sector averages relating to in operation and waste destination data; The
SCAP Footprint Calculator will be updated yearly with a new edition that will be sent
to signatories for use during that year.
Supply-side
By using the outputs from ‘what if?’ scenario modeling and preceding years’ results,
Supply-side organizations will be able to calculate the following indicators
In-use
Before distributing a new and updated version of the calculator to supply-side and end
of life signatories, data from WRAP measuring consumer behavior will be collated
and included within the calculator each year.
End of life
Using outputs from different runs of the calculator and earlier years’ outcome, end of
life organizations will be able to calculate the following indicators.
The SCAP Footprint Calculator is used for recording the actions of the supporters.
Whenever and where ever it is achievable, it should be seen that there are measures
taken to make these actions more quantitative, say for example a supporter spoke at a
22
conference where xx number of people were present as audience or maybe WRAP
materials were distributed to an xx amount of subscribers, where xx is suggestive of
the amount or quantity. For communication purposes, the Footprint Calculator should
provide a page to be completed by the Supporters. The Supporters includes:
Trade/sector body
Public Sector
Standards body
Not for profit
Source: Adapted from WRAP, 2010
SCAP aims to provide a uniform measurement and monitoring tool for the clothing
industry in UK. The plain emphasis on the need for the fashion industry to reduce
environmental footprint, changing consumer behavior, and using innovative product
design which are eco-friendly, while trying ways to keep out cloths from being
thrown away. Having a baseline and a standardized calculator provide standardized
data among all the signatories. The SCAP included trade/sector body, public sector,
standards body and not for profit sector, which help to make a balance within the
programme.
It could be said SCAP falls between pollution control and weak sustainable
development. SCAP aims to implement reuse, recycle, and manage the product life
cycle from suppliers to consumers, while at the same time focusing on globalization
when it comes to the supply chain. The use of environmental indicator is viable in the
plan, rather then simple market lead indicator.
The case of Arcadia Group: Fashion Footprint
23
Arcadia group is the UK’s second largest retailer with over 2,500 outlets with eight
high street brands – BHS, Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge,
TOPMAN, TOPSHOP and Wallis.
Fashion Footprint is the programme of Arcadia Group to manage and monitor the
environmental and social impact of their business. The programme is headed by
Fashion Footprint Steering Group (FFSG), which comprises of senior members from
their varied businesses. One of the key pillars of the Fashion Footprint programme is
the engagement of the stakeholders, which includes their employees, suppliers,
Smith, N. (2003). Corporate social responsibility: Whether or how?.
California Management Review, 46(4), pp.52 - 73.
Smith, R., Rushton, A., Buckley, J., Ruthven, O. and Jones, S. (2014).
Evaluation of the Responsible and Accountable Garment Sector
Programme.
Van Marrewijk, M. (2003). Concepts and definitions of CSR and corporate
sustainability: between agency and communion. Journal of business
ethics, 44(2-3), pp.95--105.
Wahba, H. (2008). Does the market value corporate environmental
responsibility? An empirical examination. Corporate Social Responsibility
and Environmental Management, 15(2), pp.89--99.
WRAP, (2010). Signatory measuring and reporting: setting a baseline.
London.
41
Appendices
FASHIONING A BRIGHTER FUTURE
SUMMARY REPORT2013
Fashion Footprint is Arcadia Group’s programme to monitor and
manage the social and environmental impacts of our business. This summary document provides an overview of our achievements in the 12 months up to August 2013. A full version is
available for download at www.arcadiagroup.co.uk/
fashionfootprint
As ever, we are keen to hear what you have to say about this
report and any activities within our Fashion Footprint programme. You can share your views by emailing them to hellofashionfootprint@
arcadiagroup.co.uk
Fashion Footprint is important to our employees
who provide valuable insights to shape our activities.
Arcadia has a long-held tradition of support for a wide range of communities. We give back at group level,
via our brands and through the individual efforts of our
employees.
Our emplOyees Our cOmmunities
This pillar focuses on understanding and reducing
the impacts that manufacturing our products may have on
people and planet.
A key part of being a responsible retailer is to
minimise environmental impacts in the areas of energy, waste and transport.
Our prOducts Our envirOnment
We continue to pursue improvements of working conditions at our suppliers’
factories.
tragically, this year has involved solemn reminders of the need to keep our responsibilities at the forefront of our priorities. We were deeply saddened by the events suffered by garment workers in Bangladesh, first with the fire in november 2012 and then by the building collapse in April 2013.
We signed the Accord on Fire and Building safety in Bangladesh, which will work towards improving worker safety, and take this commitment very seriously.
Our ApprOAch tO prOducts invOlves:
- ethical trading, including reviewing independent audits of working conditions in the factories that suppliers use to make our goods.
- reducing the environmental impacts of these factories, such as waste.
- Animal welfare: implementing our policy to respect animals and protect endangered species.
RAGS is one of our major ethical trading projects focusing on Benefits for Business and Workers in india and Bangladesh.
We’ve signed up to a major new initiative, that aims to improve the fashion industry’s environmental footprint.
ResponsibleAccountableGarmentSector
SustainableClothingActionPlan
reclaim to Wear, tOpshOp’s range of up-cycled clothing continues to grow, both in terms of scale and worldwide availability.
Shan
Highlight
Shan
Highlight
Our approach to the environment focuses on:
• energy• waste • transport
Whether it is down to small-scale change, such as switching to energy-efficient lamps in stores, through to sourcing over 90% of the energy we use in our stores, head offices and distribution centres from renewables, we are always seeking ways to reduce our environmental impact.
the movement of our products is an area that has seen transformative plans put in place this year. Wherever possible, we seek to minimise the impacts of transporting products.
this yeAr We reduced Our trAnspOrt cO2 emissiOns By 5.4%.
this is the sixth year in a row that we have achieved such reductions. We anticipate that all of our store delivery fleet will be replaced by early 2014 to be fully ‘euro 5’ eco-emissions compliant.
Shan
Highlight
As one of the largest employers within fashion retail, we want to work on causes that benefit those within the industry.
We continue to support young fashion talent. this is a dual strategy, working on education in partnership with the Fashion Retail Academy and sponsoring rising stars via the London Fashion Week’s NEWGEN programme.
Our brands continue to add value to the relationships they have formed with partner charities
and have raised £1.5m between them this year.
harmony house was named as our new Fashion Footprint charity this year. the charity works to provide shelter, education and healthcare for the families of those who work in the garment industry in an area of delhi, india.
Our employees donate via our workplace giving scheme and total donations this year were £164,000.
Fashion retail Academy graduation 2013
harmony house
last year’s widening of the Fashion Footprint programme to embrace our store-based colleagues has proven to be a springboard for further activity.
We are planning a Fashion Footprint Focus Week where we will revisit the pledges made to date and encourage stores to overachieve their targets. each store team will be given an opportunity to communicate their own messages to be shared with colleagues.
We have taken a number of steps this year to reinforce the two-way benefits of
employee engagement.
We have adopted ideas that have been driven out of the extension of Fashion Footprint to our retail community. We have completed an employee volunteering pilot and put in place steps to take that forward. We continue to value the feedback from our Fashion Footprint Advisory Panel.
employee volunteering
recent graduate joiners
We reviewed
2,938 factory ethical audits for the
Arcadia Group.
£1.5m is the total
amount we raised for charity this
year.
For the 5th consecutive year we have managed to reduce our absolute
CO2 emissions, bringing our total CO2 saving since 2008 to over
24,000 tonnes.
the full version of our report including next steps is available to
download at www.arcadiagroup.
co.uk/fashionfootprint
This report is printed on 100% recycled paperCBP00010510911111542
SuStainable Clothing Roadmap
Progress rePort 2011
C M
Y K
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PMS ???
PMS ???
Non-print 1
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JOB LOCATION:
PRINERGY 3
Non-printingColours
DEF-PB13461-Clothing.indd 1 10/03/2011 16:46
1 introduction
3 the roadmap Process4 stage 1: review evidence7 stage 2: engage stakeholders8 stage 3: Action Planning and implementation
15 Conclusions16 stage 4: evaluation
introDUCtion inDeXthe sustainable Clothing roadmap launched in 2007, with the aim of improving the sustainability of clothing across its lifecycle, from the crops that are grown to make the fabrics, to the design and manufacture of the garment, retail, use and end of life.
An ambitious aim, but one which is necessary because clothing, whilst an economic success story globally worth £500 billion, has a significant environmental and social footprint across its supply chain. this is exacerbated by high consumption levels, especially in the developed world. led by Defra, and working closely with sector experts, the roadmap is based on the co-ordinated action of key clothing and fashion stakeholders – the people best placed to make effective improvements throughout their operations. From April this year, Defra’s delivery body, the Waste and resources Action Programme (WrAP), will formally take over the running of the roadmap.
environmental impacts across the lifecycleexample: cotton
DEF-PB13461-Clothing.indd 2 10/03/2011 16:46
INTRODUCTION
The Sustainable Clothing Roadmap launched in 2007, with the aim of improving the sustainability of clothing across its lifecycle, from the crops that are grown to make the fabrics, to the design and manufacture of the garment, retail, use and end of life.
An ambitious aim, but one which is necessary because clothing, whilst an economic success story globally worth £500 billion, has a significant environmental and social footprint across its supply chain. This is exacerbated by high consumption levels, especially in the developed world. Led by Defra, and working closely with sector experts, the roadmap is based on the co-ordinated action of key clothing and fashion stakeholders – the people best placed to make effective improvements throughout their operations. From April this year, Defra’s delivery body, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), will formally take over the running of the roadmap.
The UN definition of the term ‘sustainability’ refers to ‘development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. Relating the concept of sustainability to clothing means that ideally this would be clothing which meets the needs of today’s consumers, and is also made, transported, sold, used and disposed of in ways which do not adversely impact people or the planet – now or at any time in the future. In practice, achieving this is not straightforward. It involves trade-offs between different impacts and working out how to prioritise improvements.
The environmental impacts involved in the manufacture of clothing vary significantly. For example, cotton growth involves significant water use, toxicity from fertiliser, pesticide and herbicide use, whereas production of synthetic fibres involves the generation of GHG emissions from the processing of fossil fuels. For all fibres the dyeing and finishing processes can involve heavy water use resulting in hazardous waste from pre-treatment chemicals. In the use phase, the energy consumed in laundering during the water heating and air heating in the tumble drying also have significant environmental impacts.
Environmental impacts across the lifecycleExample: cotton
DEF-PB13461-Clothing.indd 1 11/03/2011 09:13
creo
When the roadmap was set up, it was understood that there is no simple straightforward answer on how to tackle these issues and that government alone could not provide a solution. instead, the concept of the roadmap process is about bringing together relevant sector expertise to understand the full picture and develop co-ordinated action.
in the UK, around two million tonnes of clothing are purchased per annum, with the fast/discount fashion sector (characterised by low cost, short lifetime garments) making up one-fifth of the UK market. We discard approximately one million tonnes of unwanted clothing a year – 50% of which ends up in landfill. As 90% of UK clothing is imported, our activities have a significant overseas “footprint”, particularly in india, China and other developing countries.
We are all part of the problem and, more encouragingly, can be part of the solution. only now are we beginning to learn just how interconnected we are; that small actions in one part of the world can have big consequences in others.
the sustainable Clothing roadmap has a wide remit in order to ensure that the relevant data is gathered and that the concept of sustainable clothing is understood in its fullest sense. As the roadmap develops, it is tightening its focus and working to agree actions to tackle a series of more defined ‘hot spots’ within the clothing lifecycle. the two current task groups are
focusing on reuse and recycling and on clothes cleaning, and we plan to move on to tackle other ‘hot spot’ areas.
this progress report outlines what has been achieved since 2007 in terms of our understanding of the concept of sustainable clothing, through evidence gathering and stakeholder engagement. A number of the actions which form part of the roadmap’s ‘action plan’ have been included with the aim of demonstrating some of our achievements and sharing best practice.
if you would like more information on how to get involved in the sustainable Clothing roadmap please email [email protected] or take a look at our website www.defra.co.uk and search ‘sustainable clothing roadmap’.
“in the UK, around two million tonnes of clothing are purchased per annum...”
focusing on reuse and recycling and on clothes cleaning, and we plan to move on to tackle other ‘hot spot’ areas.
this progress report outlines what has been achieved since 2007 in terms of our understanding of the concept of sustainable clothing, through evidence gathering and stakeholder engagement. A number of the actions which form part of the roadmap’s ‘action plan’ have been included with the aim of demonstrating some of our achievements and sharing best practice.
if you would like more information on how to get involved in the sustainable Clothing roadmap please email [email protected] or take a look at our website www.defra.co.uk and search ‘sustainable clothing roadmap’.
“in the UK, around two million tonnes of clothing are purchased per annum...”
“the textile industry is one of the industries with the longest and most complicated industrial chains of the manufacturing industry. it involves actors from the agricultural, chemical fibre, textile, and apparel industries, retail and services sector, and waste treatment. the industry is fragmented and heterogeneous, dominated by small and medium enterprises (Smes) which account for more than 80% of the market.”*
the sustainable Clothing roadmap is an attempt to improve the environmental and social performance of clothing consumed in the UK, building on existing initiatives and by coordinating action by key clothing supply chain stakeholders. it is one of ten pilot roadmaps that were set up by Defra in 2007 (examples of other roadmaps are fish, milk, windows and televisions). Product roadmapping is a collaborative process for understanding and tackling the environmental impacts of a product, throughout the various stages in its lifecycle – from raw materials through to production, retail and distribution, use and end of life. the roadmapping process has four stages:
review evidence: the first stage is to look at the impacts of product across its lifecycle and the action that is already being taken, put the two together and highlight any gaps.
engage stakeholders: We then put together a group of stakeholders from across the product lifecycle – manufacturers, retailers, users and waste managers.
Action plan: We work with stakeholders todevelop an action plan – including actions by government and industry at all stages of the supply chain – to address the gaps highlighted by the evidence study.
implement and evaluate: Finally, we implementthe action plan to improve the sustainability of the product. We then monitor and evaluate what it delivers, and what we have learnt about the road-mapping process.
this report is an overview of what has been achieved in these four stages so far – detailing the evidence gathered and drawing out some of the actions being undertaken by stakeholders. the Clothing roadmap is now at the implementation and evaluation stage, having produced the first action plan in 2009, and an update in 2010. the roadmap continues to develop as new members join the process and the task groups work to develop future actions.
stAge 1: review evidence
Defra and other organisations have commissioned a number of evidence projects to help inform all roadmap members and the wider clothing sector, and identify potential actions. Most of this evidence work started early on in the roadmap process, some are ongoing. For ease of reference, the studies have been grouped together in the section below, the majority of them are also actions within the roadmap’s Action Plan.
the evidence studies are detailed in lifecycle order below.
Mapping of evidence of sustainable development impacts that occur in life cycles of clothing (2007)
As Defra’s first research under the sustainable Clothing roadmap, this evidence study undertook a review of existing literature on the life cycle of clothing. the review determined the overall social and environmental impact of the clothing life cycle along with any existing interventions and made further recommendations for improving the overall sustainability of clothing. the research assessed the robustness, uncertainties and identified gaps in the evidence of impacts. it made recommendations on further research required on life cycle impacts of clothing. Finally, it assessed the effectiveness of existing interventions to improve the sustainability performance of clothing and made recommendations on where UK interventions could make a significant improvement.
the roADMAP ProCess
ninety per cent of clothing consumed in the UK is imported. encouraging environmental and ethical improvements across the international clothing supply chains feeding the UK is essential to improve the sustainability of the clothing we wear in the UK. As india, after China, is the second largest manufacturer of clothing imported into the country, Defra has funded two clothing demonstration projects under the department’s sustainable Development Dialogues Process, which tie in with the work of the Foreign and Commonwealth office and the Department for international Development. the Dialogues were established as a means to accelerate delivery of commitments made at the World summit on sustainable Development, and to help achieve the Millennium Development goals.
sustainable Design: Promoting sustainable indian textiles (2010)
the shared talent india project, led by the Centre for sustainable Fashion, explored and shared knowledge on sustainable design practice. in india, the industry is a large net foreign exchange earner and a major employment provider. From poverty wages to water and pesticide use in cotton farming, there are a wide range of challenging sustainability issues related to the country’s industry. however, there are also growing numbers of suppliers developing better practices. this project, involving designers, suppliers of indian textiles, buyers and undergraduates from the london College of Fashion, Pearl Academy of Fashion Delhi and the Amsterdam Fashion institute aimed to build capacity and explore market opportunities for using more sustainable indian textiles. the project developed an online sourcing toolkit and textile catalogue to help UK-based fashion businesses develop productive relationships with indian suppliers and successfully source sustainable textiles.
For more information visit: www.sharedtalentindia.com
*environmental improvement Potentials of textiles, european Commission report – report pending publication from the european Commission Joint research Centre, institute for Prospective technological studies.
this report is an overview of what has been achieved in these four stages so far – detailing the evidence gathered and drawing out some of the actions being undertaken by stakeholders. the Clothing roadmap is now at the implementation and evaluation stage, having produced the first action plan in 2009, and an update in 2010. the roadmap continues to develop as new members join the process and the task groups work to develop future actions.
stAge 1: review evidence
Defra and other organisations have commissioned a number of evidence projects to help inform all roadmap members and the wider clothing sector, and identify potential actions. Most of this evidence work started early on in the roadmap process, some are ongoing. For ease of reference, the studies have been grouped together in the section below, the majority of them are also actions within the roadmap’s Action Plan.
the evidence studies are detailed in lifecycle order below.
Mapping of evidence of sustainable development impacts that occur in life cycles of clothing (2007)
As Defra’s first research under the sustainable Clothing roadmap, this evidence study undertook a review of existing literature on the life cycle of clothing. the review determined the overall social and environmental impact of the clothing life cycle along with any existing interventions and made further recommendations for improving the overall sustainability of clothing. the research assessed the robustness, uncertainties and identified gaps in the evidence of impacts. it made recommendations on further research required on life cycle impacts of clothing. Finally, it assessed the effectiveness of existing interventions to improve the sustainability performance of clothing and made recommendations on where UK interventions could make a significant improvement.
ninety per cent of clothing consumed in the UK is imported. encouraging environmental and ethical improvements across the international clothing supply chains feeding the UK is essential to improve the sustainability of the clothing we wear in the UK. As india, after China, is the second largest manufacturer of clothing imported into the country, Defra has funded two clothing demonstration projects under the department’s sustainable Development Dialogues Process, which tie in with the work of the Foreign and Commonwealth office and the Department for international Development. the Dialogues were established as a means to accelerate delivery of commitments made at the World summit on sustainable Development, and to help achieve the Millennium Development goals.
sustainable Design: Promoting sustainable indian textiles (2010)
the shared talent india project, led by the Centre for sustainable Fashion, explored and shared knowledge on sustainable design practice. in india, the industry is a large net foreign exchange earner and a major employment provider. From poverty wages to water and pesticide use in cotton farming, there are a wide range of challenging sustainability issues related to the country’s industry. however, there are also growing numbers of suppliers developing better practices. this project, involving designers, suppliers of indian textiles, buyers and undergraduates from the london College of Fashion, Pearl Academy of Fashion Delhi and the Amsterdam Fashion institute aimed to build capacity and explore market opportunities for using more sustainable indian textiles. the project developed an online sourcing toolkit and textile catalogue to help UK-based fashion businesses develop productive relationships with indian suppliers and successfully source sustainable textiles.
For more information visit: www.sharedtalentindia.com
sustainable Manufacture: eco-efficiency of indian Dyehouses (2010)
this project focused on demonstrating the environmental and business case for eco-efficiency in indian dyehouses that supply the UK clothing market. Dyeing is recognised as being a high impact process that consumes large quantities of water, energy and chemicals, and the dyeing industry is known to be one of the major global polluters. the project selected three dyehouses of differing abilities to work with in order to reduce the amount of water, energy and chemicals used to dye their products. Motivating dyehouse staff to improve processes and data gathering were challenges, but a key finding was that it is possible to significantly reduce costs and environmental impacts by simple, low cost actions. in order to maximise progress though, some capital investment is necessary. three best practice seminars were held in india to share the findings with the wider dyeing industry.
sustainable Manufacture: the role and Business Case for existing and emerging Fibres in sustainable Clothing (2010)
the aim of this evidence project was to evaluate the environmental and social impacts of existing and emerging clothing fibres and their market potential into the future. this was done to determine the business case for clothing fibres and fabrics from a sustainability perspective. the intent was to provide industry with clarity on the environmental and social impacts of fibres/fabrics to enable increased use of those with sound sustainability credentials and economic viability. A number of key data gaps and inconsistencies in reporting of the environmental and social impacts of fibres emerged during the project which prevented an accurate comparison of different fibre types.
thus the indicative ranking of fibres by environmental impact presented in the study must be treated with caution, as at best it only represents a high level indication. the study highlights a number of evidence gaps requiring further research for more accurate findings.
Use: reducing the environmental impact of Clothes Cleaning (2009)
Defra commissioned this project because existing evidence shows that the impacts of the clothes cleaning stage of the clothing lifecycle has high environmental impacts and that there is further potential for improvement beyond existing interventions. the project aim was to identify and analyse the options to reduce the energy, water and chemicals intensity of clothes cleaning. information on current cleaning methods was collected and the environmental impacts of these methods (including potential trade-offs) assessed. six aspects of clothes cleaning were considered:
Fibre and fabric characteristics e.g. anti crease or anti bacterial coatings
Washing and drying appliances
low/non-solvent dry cleaning
Detergents and their packaging
sustainable building design
Final assembly of garments and durability
the evidence confirmed that the environmental impacts of clothes cleaning are significant with energy consumption and associated ghg emissions from the heating of water (washer) and air (dryer) often quoted as approximately 80% of the use phase energy impacts. eutrophication and other toxicity impacts due to washing detergents are the other significant impacts. taking into account consumer behaviour and societal trends, the project found that the best options to reduce the impacts of clothes cleaning would be through awareness campaigns and regulatory/legislative interventions. Defra set up a Clothes Cleaning task group to come up with joint actions in this area (see page 10).
Use: Public Understanding of sustainable Clothing (2008)
this research sets out people’s current understanding of sustainable clothing and explores their response to behaviours that may mitigate impacts of their clothes buying, maintenance and disposal. Using focus group methods and follow up sessions, the research explored: people’s aspirations in relation to clothing – what would they like to buy and wear, and what might nudge their aspirations towards a more sustainable picture; assumptions of ‘good clothing’; understanding of sustainable clothing; and expectations of government and industry. in order to raise awareness of the sustainability impacts of clothing among the general public, the research advised a number of strategies. these included the provision of better labelling on the source of products, exploring options to increase recovery of clothing through ‘take back’ schemes, and building on the ‘wash at 30°C’ campaign.
end of life: Maximising reuse and recycling of UK Clothing and textiles (2009)
this project reported comprehensive and robust data on the quality and quantity of post consumer clothing and textile waste in the UK. it presented and evaluated strategies for increasing reuse and recycling in order to divert them from landfill. this included a detailed assessment of the barriers and opportunities to maximise reuse and recycling, the technical and economic feasibility of different options, the infrastructure requirements, and examples of best practice from overseas. A pilot scale trial to test textile waste suitability for reuse/recycling was conducted for a representative sample of households in Birmingham. the study recommends key interventions in order to optimise technologies and develop markets for clothing and textiles items and their constituent materials, thus diverting more from landfill.
thus the indicative ranking of fibres by environmental impact presented in the study must be treated with caution, as at best it only represents a high level indication. the study highlights a number of evidence gaps requiring further research for more accurate findings.
Use: reducing the environmental impact of Clothes Cleaning (2009)
Defra commissioned this project because existing evidence shows that the impacts of the clothes cleaning stage of the clothing lifecycle has high environmental impacts and that there is further potential for improvement beyond existing interventions. the project aim was to identify and analyse the options to reduce the energy, water and chemicals intensity of clothes cleaning. information on current cleaning methods was collected and the environmental impacts of these methods (including potential trade-offs) assessed. six aspects of clothes cleaning were considered:
Fibre and fabric characteristics e.g. anti crease or anti bacterial coatings
Washing and drying appliances
low/non-solvent dry cleaning
Detergents and their packaging
sustainable building design
Final assembly of garments and durability
the evidence confirmed that the environmental impacts of clothes cleaning are significant with energy consumption and associated ghg emissions from the heating of water (washer) and air (dryer) often quoted as approximately 80% of the use phase energy impacts. eutrophication and other toxicity impacts due to washing detergents are the other significant impacts. taking into account consumer behaviour and societal trends, the project found that the best options to reduce the impacts of clothes cleaning would be through awareness campaigns and regulatory/legislative interventions. Defra set up a Clothes Cleaning task group to come up with joint actions in this area (see page 10).
Use: Public Understanding of sustainable Clothing (2008)
this research sets out people’s current understanding of sustainable clothing and explores their response to behaviours that may mitigate impacts of their clothes buying, maintenance and disposal. Using focus group methods and follow up sessions, the research explored: people’s aspirations in relation to clothing – what would they like to buy and wear, and what might nudge their aspirations towards a more sustainable picture; assumptions of ‘good clothing’; understanding of sustainable clothing; and expectations of government and industry. in order to raise awareness of the sustainability impacts of clothing among the general public, the research advised a number of strategies. these included the provision of better labelling on the source of products, exploring options to increase recovery of clothing through ‘take back’ schemes, and building on the ‘wash at 30°C’ campaign.
end of life: Maximising reuse and recycling of UK Clothing and textiles (2009)
this project reported comprehensive and robust data on the quality and quantity of post consumer clothing and textile waste in the UK. it presented and evaluated strategies for increasing reuse and recycling in order to divert them from landfill. this included a detailed assessment of the barriers and opportunities to maximise reuse and recycling, the technical and economic feasibility of different options, the infrastructure requirements, and examples of best practice from overseas. A pilot scale trial to test textile waste suitability for reuse/recycling was conducted for a representative sample of households in Birmingham. the study recommends key interventions in order to optimise technologies and develop markets for clothing and textiles items and their constituent materials, thus diverting more from landfill.
stAge 2: engage stakeholders
Although theoretically, this is the second stage of the roadmap, stakeholders were engaged right from the start of the process. those who expressed interest in undertaking commitments were invited to participate on the steering groups for the evidence projects mentioned above.
nearly 300 stakeholder organisations along the supply chain of UK consumed clothing have participated in the roadmap to date, including clothing retailers, fibre/fabric/garment manufacturers, suppliers, clothing reuse and recycling organisations, charities, industry associations, government, ngos, practitioners, academia and support organisations.
of those 300, around 40 have committed to take action. they are a diverse group – including large and small organisations, businesses, government and civil society, mainstream brands and sustainability specialists.
Different organisations face different challenges, and are at different stages of their journey towards sustainability. the actions detailed overleaf illustrate this. some organisations are just entering this arena, whilst others have been working on it for a significant time.
Based on the evidence obtained, the roadmap participants agreed on five key action areas:
1) improving environmental performance across the supply chain
2) Consumption trends and behaviour
3) Awareness, media, education and networks
4) Creating market drivers
5) traceability across the supply chain (ethics, trade and environment)
the Action Plans of 2009 and 2010 were grouped under these headings.
A steering group monitors progress in delivering actions, and at the end of the task, a case study demonstrating evidence of achievement is required.
ranging from reducing garment packaging, to developing a clothing take back process, to raising awareness of sustainable clothing, the actions cover a wide spectrum of activity. As different stakeholders are at different stages of their journey towards sustainability, some actions are first steps, some demonstrate best practice, and some involve the development of cutting edge technology.
this next section of the report outlines some of these activities in the five key action areas outlined above. symbols have been added as a guide, showing what types of actions stakeholders at different stages can adopt and develop.
Quick Wins:
good Practice:
trailblazers:
action area 1: improving environmental performance across the supply chain
this area covers a range of activities such as sustainable design, fibres and fabrics and maximising reuse, recycling and end of life management. the majority of members’ actions fall within this action area.
the new actions which have been added in this area since the previous action plan are:
the better Cotton initiative’s action to engage retailers representing 15% of cotton grown globally in their Better Cotton system through BCi membership by 2012.
John lewis has committed to remove polystyrene from the inside of their packaging from 2012 and to roll out product labelling on John lewis garments with a save energy message – 30°c wash and line dry recommendation.
design tools
Nike developed the Considered Apparel index to score the environmental attributes of its apparel in 2007. the index is used by designers early in the product creation process to help inform design and development decisions to reduce the environmental impacts related to materials, manufacturing waste, and garment treatments. in late 2010, nike launched the environmental Apparel Design tool (eADt), which is a web-based version of the index. it was developed primarily to enable other companies to understand nike’s approach to scoring apparel products and to provide a working tool to score their products. the eADt was tested and well received by a number of retailers and brands. the related Materials Analysis tool (MAt) drives 60% of a garment’s score in nike’s Considered Apparel index. MAt uses materials impact data related to four key environmental impact areas – energy/Co2-eq, water /land use intensity, chemistry, and waste – to assess approximately 60 footwear and apparel materials on a relative scale of 1 to 100. the apparel materials portion of MAt was also released in late 2010 with the eADt.
the Clothes exchange
the Oxfam and M&S Clothes exchange was launchedin 2008 and encourages people to donate their unwanted clothes. the exchange is designed to raise money for oxfam’s work and to reduce the one million tonnes of clothing sent to landfill each year. Anyone donating an item of M&s clothing to oxfam receives a £5 voucher to use on their next purchase of £35 or more in store. revenues generated from the sale of donated garments provide funding for oxfam’s work on poverty around the world. since the launch, more than three million garments have been diverted from landfill into reuse and an extra £3 million has been raised for oxfam. the scheme has recently been extended to cover soft furnishings.
uniform Reuse trial
this trial, carried out by the Centre for Reuse and Remanufacture and completed in 2009, set out to find ways of improving the reuse and recycling options for corporate wear through practical research and the development of an educational resource. recovery of corporate wear in the UK currently operates on a relatively small scale, at less than 5%. the main barriers to reuse and recycling include heterogeneous fibre composition, construction and garment designs which inhibit disassembly. Corporate clothing reuse is often hindered by security and corporate image issues due to logos being difficult and costly to remove. As such, corporate wear from high level security sectors (such as transport and public services) is often security-shredded and disposed of to landfill. An online resource to educate industry and raise awareness of the opportunities available can be found at: www.uniformreuse.co.uk.
action area 1: improving environmental performance across the supply chain
this area covers a range of activities such as sustainable design, fibres and fabrics and maximising reuse, recycling and end of life management. the majority of members’ actions fall within this action area.
the new actions which have been added in this area since the previous action plan are:
the better Cotton initiative’s action to engage retailers representing 15% of cotton grown globally in their Better Cotton system through BCi membership by 2012.
John lewis has committed to remove polystyrene from the inside of their packaging from 2012 and to roll out product labelling on John lewis garments with a save energy message – 30°c wash and line dry recommendation.
Nike developed the Considered Apparel index to score the environmental attributes of its apparel in 2007. the index is used by designers early in the product creation process to help inform design and development decisions to reduce the environmental impacts related to materials, manufacturing waste, and garment treatments. in late 2010, nike launched the environmental Apparel Design tool (eADt), which is a web-based version of the index. it was developed primarily to enable other companies to understand nike’s approach to scoring apparel products and to provide a working tool to score their products. the eADt was tested and well received by a number of retailers and brands. the related Materials Analysis tool (MAt) drives 60% of a garment’s score in nike’s Considered Apparel index. MAt uses materials impact data related to four key environmental impact areas – energy/Co2-eq, water /land use intensity, chemistry, and waste – to assess approximately 60 footwear and apparel materials on a relative scale of 1 to 100. the apparel materials portion of MAt was also released in late 2010 with the eADt.
Case Study: Royal Mail GroupKey Facts:– RMG employs 1% of the UK working population
– RMG sends less than 1% of corporate uniform to landfill
one of rMg’s Csr targets is a focus on ethical sourcing and waste disposal of corporate wear. the organisation has a wide range of garments for employees, including casual wear, tailored career wear, high performance wear, footwear and associated products. there are between 150,000 and 170,000 compulsory uniform employees within the royal Mail group and they need to cater for a wide range of sizes. When the employee has finished with a garment, it is sorted initially for de-branding, which involves cutting the label off the garment. this can damage the garment and render it unusable, in which case the garments may be entered into recycling systems (and remanufacturing process – depending on the fibre content) or landfill if non-biodegradable. All remaining products are then sent for processing, mainly for use in seat mouldings for the automotive industry. When asked what they would recommend to other companies with similar aims, royal Mail’s principal response was “traceability” – most companies understand that it is vital that the full supply chain can be effectively monitored, yet they often fail to consider the inclusion of end-of-life management. they also recommend considering sustainability issues at the design stage. this can include minimising waste in cuts, using sustainable and ethically sourced fabrics, and considering what options exist for end-of-life management.
the Clothes exchange
the Oxfam and M&S Clothes exchange was launchedin 2008 and encourages people to donate their unwanted clothes. the exchange is designed to raise money for oxfam’s work and to reduce the one million tonnes of clothing sent to landfill each year. Anyone donating an item of M&s clothing to oxfam receives a £5 voucher to use on their next purchase of £35 or more in store. revenues generated from the sale of donated garments provide funding for oxfam’s work on poverty around the world. since the launch, more than three million garments have been diverted from landfill into reuse and an extra £3 million has been raised for oxfam. the scheme has recently been extended to cover soft furnishings.
uniform Reuse trial
this trial, carried out by the Centre for Reuse and Remanufacture and completed in 2009, set out to find ways of improving the reuse and recycling options for corporate wear through practical research and the development of an educational resource. recovery of corporate wear in the UK currently operates on a relatively small scale, at less than 5%. the main barriers to reuse and recycling include heterogeneous fibre composition, construction and garment designs which inhibit disassembly. Corporate clothing reuse is often hindered by security and corporate image issues due to logos being difficult and costly to remove. As such, corporate wear from high level security sectors (such as transport and public services) is often security-shredded and disposed of to landfill. An online resource to educate industry and raise awareness of the opportunities available can be found at: www.uniformreuse.co.uk.
A number of the sustainable clothing roadmap members have committed to take action on reducing the packaging involved with their garments. George at Asda has made both financial and environmental savings by restricting the use of garment shrouds to light and delicate items, it has also changed the way garments are hung during the transportation process. in the past year, Marks and Spencer has increased the number of clothing hangers collected for re-use or recycling to 133 million, with 76% being re-used and the remainder recycled. Sainsbury’s has committed to reducing clothing packaging by 33% by 2013 and Tesco aims to increase the amount of their packaging made from sustainable raw materials with the target of having all paper and board from 100% FsC or similar sustainably managed sources by 2012.
Also under this action area, two task groups have been created to develop and agree further collaborative actions.
Clothes Cleaning task group
the group formed in July 2010 and has focused on the key issues identified by the evidence study ‘reducing the environmental impact of clothes cleaning’ namely;
wash at 30°
line drying
wash at full load
spin speed
dosage
the task group on clothes cleaning is made up of representatives from across the value chain, including manufacturers, retailers and government. Discussions within the group have led to the conclusion that the two areas where collaborative action by industry could have the most influence on reducing the environmental impact of clothes cleaning were line-drying and wash at 30°.
the next step for the group is developing collaborative action to further the take up of washing at 30°. george at Asda, sainsbury’s, Marks and spencer and tesco have all taken action to put this message on their clothes labelling. Although great strides have been made, for example 21% of consumers now wash at 30° compared with 2% in 2002, the group is committed to improving these figures further. A key challenge ahead lays in the successful communication of the wash at 30° message – so that it becomes normal behaviour.
reuse and recycling task group
this group formed in september 2010, in response to the evidence developed on UK clothing reuse and recycling. the primary objective is to develop collective actions to which a number of organisations can contribute as these are likely to have a greater national impact than individual actions. it aims to achieve this by:
improving collection and separation of reusable and recyclable clothing;
undertaking market development activities, including understanding market operation, developing good practice and techniques; and
liaising with other industry member and interest groups to promote collections and uptake of reused and recycled clothing.
the group includes manufacturers, retailers, brands, collectors, recyclers and government representatives. Work focuses on clothing and excludes carpets. the group will also address the balance of quality of collected clothing with the volume collected and is aware that increasing collections will result in a greater amount of clothing suitable only for recycling. it will be important, therefore, to develop separation techniques and outlets markets for recycled products. the group will also cover the development of markets for different grades of recyclate.
action area 2: Consumption trends and behaviour
Action under this area relates mainly to Defra-led research on public understanding of sustainable clothing and raising consumer awareness of the issues involved.
Defra has also been developing webpages on the environment section of the Direct gov website advising consumers on how they can reduce the environmental footprint of their clothing consumption. see the section on ‘Clothing: greener choices’ at www.direct.gov.uk for more information.
the ‘perfect t-shirt’
When the Continental Clothing Company set out to create the ‘perfect t-shirt’, the aim was to consider all the impacts on the workforce, local economy, environment and climate change, whilst delivering a commercially viable and desirable product offering on a mass scale. the guiding principles were the complete traceability and transparency of the supply chain, and best practice at every stage. Continental Clothing became a pilot partner with the Carbon trust’s product footprinting and labelling programme, working towards the development of the footprinting methodology for textile products. the company then extended the calculations to include screen-printing, mail-order retailing, consumer use and disposal, thus completing the first full life cycle analysis using the PAs2050 Carbon Footprint methodology. the footprinting study and analysis pinpointed the ghg hotspots throughout the manufacturing process, from choice of fibres, fabric and garment construction, through to the wet processing, accessorising, screen printing, to packaging and transportation/distribution. the study provided vital information to the designers, logistics managers and marketers, in order to effectively control and reduce the impact on climate change. By switching to wind energy at their india manufacturing plant, they achieved a 90% reduction in carbon footprint compared to an identical product manufactured using conventional energy sources. the t-shirt carbon footprint was reduced from 7kgCo2e down to 0.7kgCo2e.
the task group on clothes cleaning is made up of representatives from across the value chain, including manufacturers, retailers and government. Discussions within the group have led to the conclusion that the two areas where collaborative action by industry could have the most influence on reducing the environmental impact of clothes cleaning were line-drying and wash at 30°.
the next step for the group is developing collaborative action to further the take up of washing at 30°. george at Asda, sainsbury’s, Marks and spencer and tesco have all taken action to put this message on their clothes labelling. Although great strides have been made, for example 21% of consumers now wash at 30° compared with 2% in 2002, the group is committed to improving these figures further. A key challenge ahead lays in the successful communication of the wash at 30° message – so that it becomes normal behaviour.
reuse and recycling task group
this group formed in september 2010, in response to the evidence developed on UK clothing reuse and recycling. the primary objective is to develop collective actions to which a number of organisations can contribute as these are likely to have a greater national impact than individual actions. it aims to achieve this by:
improving collection and separation of reusable and recyclable clothing;
undertaking market development activities, including understanding market operation, developing good practice and techniques; and
liaising with other industry member and interest groups to promote collections and uptake of reused and recycled clothing.
the group includes manufacturers, retailers, brands, collectors, recyclers and government representatives. Work focuses on clothing and excludes carpets. the group will also address the balance of quality of collected clothing with the volume collected and is aware that increasing collections will result in a greater amount of clothing suitable only for recycling. it will be important, therefore, to develop separation techniques and outlets markets for recycled products. the group will also cover the development of markets for different grades of recyclate.
action area 2: Consumption trends and behaviour
Action under this area relates mainly to Defra-led research on public understanding of sustainable clothing and raising consumer awareness of the issues involved.
Defra has also been developing webpages on the environment section of the Direct gov website advising consumers on how they can reduce the environmental footprint of their clothing consumption. see the section on ‘Clothing: greener choices’ at www.direct.gov.uk for more information.
the ‘perfect t-shirt’
When the Continental Clothing Company set out to create the ‘perfect t-shirt’, the aim was to consider all the impacts on the workforce, local economy, environment and climate change, whilst delivering a commercially viable and desirable product offering on a mass scale. the guiding principles were the complete traceability and transparency of the supply chain, and best practice at every stage. Continental Clothing became a pilot partner with the Carbon trust’s product footprinting and labelling programme, working towards the development of the footprinting methodology for textile products. the company then extended the calculations to include screen-printing, mail-order retailing, consumer use and disposal, thus completing the first full life cycle analysis using the PAs2050 Carbon Footprint methodology. the footprinting study and analysis pinpointed the ghg hotspots throughout the manufacturing process, from choice of fibres, fabric and garment construction, through to the wet processing, accessorising, screen printing, to packaging and transportation/distribution. the study provided vital information to the designers, logistics managers and marketers, in order to effectively control and reduce the impact on climate change. By switching to wind energy at their india manufacturing plant, they achieved a 90% reduction in carbon footprint compared to an identical product manufactured using conventional energy sources. the t-shirt carbon footprint was reduced from 7kgCo2e down to 0.7kgCo2e.
action area 3: Awareness, media, education and networks An important element in the work of the sustainable Clothing roadmap has been in raising awareness of the environmental and social impacts of clothing. A number of participants hold annual conferences and exhibitions with a sustainable clothing theme. raising the profile of these issues amongst consumers, retailers and manufacturers is an ongoing aim of the roadmap process.
the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at the london College of Fashion, set up a Masters degree in fashion and the environment in 2008. the course provides students with the knowledge and skills to use design to develop positive change in the ecological, social and cultural impacts relating to fashion. teaching and learning tools on the topic of sustainability are being developed for undergraduate fashion based courses. online resources, workshops and one to one sessions to inform and grow fashion businesses’ capability to respond to ethical, environmental and cultural concerns and to find new opportunities for sustainable practice are also being developed.
Cotton made in africa
environmental damage, drinking water depletion and soil exploitation have serious consequences for poor farmers. the objective of the Cotton made in Africa initiative (part of the Aid by trade Foundation) is to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers whilst protecting the environment and supporting social progress. For example, long term maintenance of soil fertility is much more likely to happen once smallholder farmers have reached a level of income, food security and technical ability to allow them to ‘invest’ into their acreage over a number of planting cycles rather than to live from hand to mouth. income and education are thus important determinants not only for social progress, but also for environmental sustainability in rural Africa. the Aid by trade Foundation and its partners are providing smallholder training to increase productivity and income through sustainable farming methods. it is also involved in community projects to improve quality of, and access to, health, education, and in payment of Cotton made in Africa dividends to add to farming income. so far, CmiA’s production standards have been verified with over 250,000 farmers in Burkina Faso, Benin, ivory Coast, Malawi and Zambia. Cotton made in Africa finances its support to social development and sustainable cotton growing by a small licensing fee, levied on retailers.
Schools Clothing Collection
The Salvation Army Trading Company (SATCoL), collects around 3,000 tonnes of usable or recyclable textiles a month, less than 2.5 tonnes of that is sent to landfill. As part of its textile recycling work, sAtCol launched an educational and practical clothing collection scheme specifically designed for schools. the project developed a DVD to be shown in school assemblies and classrooms, with Chris tarrant and gary lineker teaching children the benefits of recycling. the information produced focuses on the reasons for recycling of textiles, how recycling works and what happens to clothing unsuitable for reuse. sAtCol has also worked with a number of schools to provide collection bags that the children are encouraged to fill with donations before they’re collected, helping to facilitate textile recycling in a practical way for young people.
Courses in Colour
As around 90% of clothing consumed in the UK is imported, encouraging environmental and ethical improvements through the international clothing supply chain is essential for improving the sustainability of UK clothing. Dyeing is recognised as being a high impact process that consumes large quantities of water, chemicals and energy, and the dyeing process is known to be a significant source of pollution. The Society of Dyes and Colourists is providing a range of courses and educational qualifications on best practice in the wet processing of textiles, colour management, fastness testing and the environmental case for this. running in the UK, india, hong Kong, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and seeking to roll out to more countries, the range of courses are extending to include topics that will influence how dyehouses are run and how communication through the supply chain is managed in the future.
action area 4:Creating market drivers goods that are bought by the public sector can affect product markets. the development of the new government Buying standards (gBs) are designed to make it easier for government buyers to buy sustainably and for the supply chain to have a clear sense of government’s procurement needs. the gBs for textiles, developed by Defra, cover clothing, uniforms and some furnishings and will be mandatory for central government departments from April 2011. the UK’s gBs reflect, and in certain aspects go beyond, the eU voluntary standards on green Public Procurement. government departments and frontline service providers will be encouraged not only to meet the standard but to reach for the ‘award’ level of ambition. For more information visit: http://sd.defra.gov.uk/advice/public/buying/
public procurement nHS trial
Defra commissioned this pilot study to investigate how staff uniforms can be procured in the public sector with greater emphasis on sustainable development (sD). the project focused on nhs trusts as these are bodies which are advised to follow government guidance on sustainable procurement but not bound by it. the project provides expert guidance on significant aspects of sD in procurement exercises in order to deliver more sustainable, value for money solutions without compromising quality or function. Working with four trusts, each at different stages of awareness and implementation of sD issues, the project will draw up case studies exploring lessons learnt and best practice in terms of sustainable procurement. the results of this trial will be shared widely with public sector procurers to encourage greater inclusion of sustainability criteria when procuring uniforms.
The Salvation Army Trading Company (SATCoL), collects around 3,000 tonnes of usable or recyclable textiles a month, less than 2.5 tonnes of that is sent to landfill. As part of its textile recycling work, sAtCol launched an educational and practical clothing collection scheme specifically designed for schools. the project developed a DVD to be shown in school assemblies and classrooms, with Chris tarrant and gary lineker teaching children the benefits of recycling. the information produced focuses on the reasons for recycling of textiles, how recycling works and what happens to clothing unsuitable for reuse. sAtCol has also worked with a number of schools to provide collection bags that the children are encouraged to fill with donations before they’re collected, helping to facilitate textile recycling in a practical way for young people.
As around 90% of clothing consumed in the UK is imported, encouraging environmental and ethical improvements through the international clothing supply chain is essential for improving the sustainability of UK clothing. Dyeing is recognised as being a high impact process that consumes large quantities of water, chemicals and energy, and the dyeing process is known to be a significant source of pollution. The Society of Dyes and Colourists is providing a range of courses and educational qualifications on best practice in the wet processing of textiles, colour management, fastness testing and the environmental case for this. running in the UK, india, hong Kong, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and seeking to roll out to more countries, the range of courses are extending to include topics that will influence how dyehouses are run and how communication through the supply chain is managed in the future.
action area 4:Creating market drivers goods that are bought by the public sector can affect product markets. the development of the new government Buying standards (gBs) are designed to make it easier for government buyers to buy sustainably and for the supply chain to have a clear sense of government’s procurement needs. the gBs for textiles, developed by Defra, cover clothing, uniforms and some furnishings and will be mandatory for central government departments from April 2011. the UK’s gBs reflect, and in certain aspects go beyond, the eU voluntary standards on green Public Procurement. government departments and frontline service providers will be encouraged not only to meet the standard but to reach for the ‘award’ level of ambition. For more information visit: http://sd.defra.gov.uk/advice/public/buying/
public procurement nHS trial
Defra commissioned this pilot study to investigate how staff uniforms can be procured in the public sector with greater emphasis on sustainable development (sD). the project focused on nhs trusts as these are bodies which are advised to follow government guidance on sustainable procurement but not bound by it. the project provides expert guidance on significant aspects of sD in procurement exercises in order to deliver more sustainable, value for money solutions without compromising quality or function. Working with four trusts, each at different stages of awareness and implementation of sD issues, the project will draw up case studies exploring lessons learnt and best practice in terms of sustainable procurement. the results of this trial will be shared widely with public sector procurers to encourage greater inclusion of sustainability criteria when procuring uniforms.
action area 5: traceability acrossthe supply chain (ethics, trade and environment)
this action area encompasses a range of activities, including the development and implementation of ethical audit processes, the promotion of Fairtrade practices and animal welfare standards. Many of the actions in this area focus on retailers’ commitments to improve supply chain traceability – understanding the path from primary production to finished garment is crucial for accountability.
the new actions which have been added in this area since the last progress report are:
Better Cotton Initiative’s commitment to develop an online central database keeping track of Better Cotton supplies and development of a unique bale iD system.
John Lewis will also introduce a traceability system allowing transparency of cotton supply chains from growers to finished product.
ongoing actions in this area include Sainsbury’s traceability programme to be implemented in Bangladesh for 100% cotton garments, George at Asda has also committed to further develop their ethical audit process to cover more elements of the supply chain including fabric mills. Tesco is now in the roll out phase of its action on working with animal welfare groups to develop sourcing policies on animal welfare for cashmere, angora, feathers and non mulesed Australian merino wool. the company has established monitoring systems to manage enforcement of the process.
RaGs
Another action in this area is the Responsible and Accountable Garment Sector initiative (rAgs).Funded by UKaid from the Department for international Development (DFiD), the rAgs Challenge Fund has been set up to support projects aimed at improving conditions of vulnerable workers in the ready-made garment production industries. the fund is aimed at workers in low-income countries in Asia and sub-saharan Africa that supply the UK market. the overall objective of rAgs is that responsible and ethical production becomes the norm in the garment manufacturing sector supplying the UK. More specifically, it aims to stimulate and catalyse sustainable improvements in working conditions through better supply chain practices in the UK and in producer countries. At present, £2.1 million has been committed over two years for 12 projects, mainly targeting production and production management skills to increase wages through productivity, workers rights, audit skills and Fairtrade principles.
Another action in this area is the Responsible and Accountable Garment Sector initiative (rAgs).Funded by UKaid from the Department for international Development (DFiD), the rAgs Challenge Fund has been set up to support projects aimed at improving conditions of vulnerable workers in the ready-made garment production industries. the fund is aimed at workers in low-income countries in Asia and sub-saharan Africa that supply the UK market. the overall objective of rAgs is that responsible and ethical production becomes the norm in the garment manufacturing sector supplying the UK. More specifically, it aims to stimulate and catalyse sustainable improvements in working conditions through better supply chain practices in the UK and in producer countries. At present, £2.1 million has been committed over two years for 12 projects, mainly targeting production and production management skills to increase wages through productivity, workers rights, audit skills and Fairtrade principles.
At the end of 2010, WrAP commissioned an independent evaluation of several Defra and WrAP initiated voluntary agreements, including the sustainable Clothing roadmap. Although not yet published, the report will provide a useful source of feedback and input into future management of the roadmap process.
in April 2011, WrAP formally takes over as the lead body on the steering of the roadmap. this transfer represents recognition that the sustainability of clothing remains a priority issue and needs to be in the mainstream of government funded activity to increase resource efficiency. Defra will remain closely involved throughout the process.
looking back at the various stages of the roadmap process, in terms of evidence gathering, this area of activity is mostly complete and no further major research is anticipated at present. stakeholder involvement continues to increase, and members of the roadmap’s steering group chair sessions.
to date, the actions within the roadmap have been wide ranging. Feedback from participants highlights calls for the Action Plan to go beyond its current scope of primarily individual actions and to develop concerted action. in the future, the focus of the roadmap will be on developing smaller numbers of collaborative/group actions and in giving greater steer on target setting. this approach is already being taken on in the two task groups on clothes cleaning and reuse and recycling.
For the future, a rolling programme of task groups is envisaged, with new groups forming to address particular issues, and ending when their task is completed. A new group to agree metrics and product category rules for assessing resource impacts is currently under discussion.
Catalysing debate and increasing consumer understanding of the concept of sustainable clothing is also a key part of the roadmap process. Clothing made from certified organic cotton, recycled polyester clothing and Fair trade certified clothes are all examples of actions being taken to improve the sustainability of clothing. Although varying in levels of sustainability improvement, these kinds of examples help consumers become aware of their purchases and what their choices mean for the wider world.
this is a global challenge, and the UK is not alone in seeking solutions to the issues surrounding sustainable clothing. Work continues with international partners to push for greater action in supplier countries. As population figures rise and prosperity increases around the globe, the demand for commodities will escalate and only those sectors and businesses within them who are preparing for this future will remain prosperous. Profitability and sustainability can no longer be seen as irreconcilable forces, but inextricably linked.
this publication may be re-used free of charge in any format or medium for research for non-commercial purposes, private study or for internal circulation within an organisation. this is subject to it being re-used accurately and not used in a misleading context. the material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the publication specified.
information about this publication and copies are available from:
sustainable Products and Materials Defra ergon house 17 smith square london sW1P 3Jr email: [email protected]
this document is available on the Defra website
Published by the Department for environment, Food and rural Affairs
For the future, a rolling programme of task groups is envisaged, with new groups forming to address particular issues, and ending when their task is completed. A new group to agree metrics and product category rules for assessing resource impacts is currently under discussion.
Catalysing debate and increasing consumer understanding of the concept of sustainable clothing is also a key part of the roadmap process. Clothing made from certified organic cotton, recycled polyester clothing and Fair trade certified clothes are all examples of actions being taken to improve the sustainability of clothing. Although varying in levels of sustainability improvement, these kinds of examples help consumers become aware of their purchases and what their choices mean for the wider world.
this is a global challenge, and the UK is not alone in seeking solutions to the issues surrounding sustainable clothing. Work continues with international partners to push for greater action in supplier countries. As population figures rise and prosperity increases around the globe, the demand for commodities will escalate and only those sectors and businesses within them who are preparing for this future will remain prosperous. Profitability and sustainability can no longer be seen as irreconcilable forces, but inextricably linked.
this publication may be re-used free of charge in any format or medium for research for non-commercial purposes, private study or for internal circulation within an organisation. this is subject to it being re-used accurately and not used in a misleading context. the material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the publication specified.
information about this publication and copies are available from:
sustainable Products and Materials Defra ergon house 17 smith square london sW1P 3Jr email: [email protected]
this document is available on the Defra website
Published by the Department for environment, Food and rural Affairs