The fashion industry accounts for 10% of the world’s carbon emissions*, greater than all international airline flights and maritime shipping trips combined.
To make it worse, we’re buying more and using less. Each week in the UK we buy 38m new fashion items and send 11m to landfill (WRAP Valuing Our Clothes report, July 2017).
Once discarded in landfill, clothing still causes negative environmental impacts. Natural fibres such as cotton and wool generate the greenhouse gas methane, which is released into the environment if the landfill is not properly controlled. And the average polyester product is likely to survive for over 200 years (A New Textile Economy – Ellen MacArthur Foundation).
The fashion system is broken, it’s fueling our waste problem and our climate emergency.
We believe a more positive future is possible. We need to fall back in love with the clothes we already own. Caring for them better so we can wear them for longer and then give them a second life. Because if we extend the active life of our clothing by just 9 months, we can lower its carbon, water, and waste impact by up to 30% (WRAP Extending the Life of Clothes, December 2017).
So, let’s liberate the value of the clothes we already own, to keep them in use and out of landfill.
We’ve shared some ideas on how you can ‘Wash Wisely, Wear Longer and Waste Less’.
