The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee has launched a follow-up inquiry to its 2018 inquiry Fixing fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability.

During the 2018 inquiry the EAC heard that the environmental price tag for clothes is largely determined during the design and production phase, while the greatest quantity of water is used during the growing and production of fibres.

Textile production is responsible for high volumes of water containing hazardous chemicals being discharged into rivers and water courses. Dyeing and treatment of textiles causes 20% of global industrial water pollution, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

In its subsequent report published in February 2019, MPs sitting on the Committee warned that the fashion industry is depleting the world’s water resources, polluting rivers and other surface waters with chemicals and adding to ocean microplastic pollution.

The Fixing Fashion report said:

“We are unwittingly wearing the fresh water supply of central Asia and destroying fragile ecosystems.”

The Committee has now chosen to revisit the issue to monitor progress due to continued concerns around the environmental impact of the fashion industry and working conditions in UK garment factories.

The Government rejected most of the Committee’s recommendations in June 2019, which ranged from a producer responsibility charge to pay for better clothing collection and recycling to requiring due diligence checks across fashion supply chains to root out forced or child labour.

However, the Government has identified textile waste as a priority area to address its Resources and Waste Strategy.

Fashion production has a considerable impact on climate and biodiversity. The global fashion industry is estimated to have produced around 2.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2018; the equivalent to the combined emissions of France, Germany and the UK.

Fast fashion also creates a waste problem in the UK and developing countries – and UK citizens buy more new clothes than any other European country and throw away over a million tonnes of clothing every year.

While two thirds of clothing is either donated or collected for resale or low quality recycling, around 336,000 tonnes is disposed of in household bins destined for landfill or incineration.

The Covid-19 pandemic has also shone a light on garment factories in Leicester. Reports of poor working conditions suggests there has been little improvement since the Committee’s report, which recommended regular audits and for companies to engage with unions for their workers.

The Committee’s follow-up work will consist of gathering written evidence and a one-off oral evidence session.

The Committee is inviting written evidence on anber of questions, including:

• What progress has been made in reducing the environmental and social impact of the fashion industry since the Fixing Fashion report came out?
• What impact has the pandemic had on fashion waste?
• What impact has the pandemic had on the relationship between fashion retailers and suppliers?
• How can any stimulus after the Coronavirus crisis be used to promote a more sustainable fashion industry?
• Is the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan adequate to address the environmental impact of the UK fashion industry? How ambitious should its targets be in its next phase?
• What actions could Government take to improve the collection of fashion waste?
• What actions could the Government take to incentivise the use of recycled or reused fibres and materials in the UK fashion industry?
• How could an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for textiles be designed to incentive improvements in the sustainability of garments on sale in the UK?

Deadline to submit comments to the inquiry is Friday 13 November 2020 – click here to access the inquiry online

Click here to download Fixing fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability