Environmental Audit Committee Chair Philip Dunne has said he is “disappointed” in the 15 fashion firms who declined invitations to give oral evidence to the Committee’s meeting on 1st May.

The Chair said this was “a pretty poor performance” and suggested the companies were “not prepared to stand up to their own corporate responsibilities”.

Addressing witnesses to the Committee’s evidence session on the sustainability of the fashion industry, Philip Dunne said:

“As a Committee, we have invited a great many retailers, household names, to give evidence today. I have to confess to being disappointed that 15 companies chose not to come today.

“I’m going to identify them, because they all have their own reasons, but as a way of thanking those of you who have had the courage to come and sit before the committee today, I’m afraid that Matalan, TK Maxx, ASOS, I Saw It First, Shein, ASDA, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, New Look, Next, Sainsbury’s and Tesco all were unable to be represented today.

“They encouraged us to talk to the British Retail Consortium; we had spoken to them previously in this Parliament.

“But I would like to put it on the record that I think that’s a pretty poor performance, that they’re not prepared to stand up to their own corporate responsibilities."

The Chair also confirmed that online resellers Depop, eBay and Vinted had also been invited to give evidence, but had declined.

The evidence session, revisiting aspects of a predecessor Committee’s landmark report into fast fashion in 2019, took place on Wednesday 1st May.