The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) report has called for a one penny producer responsibility charge on each item of clothing to pay for better clothing collection and recycling. The report also argues that taxation should be reformed to reward companies that offer clothing repairs and reduce the environmental footprint of their products. It calls for lessons on designing, creating, mending and repairing clothes to be in the school curriculum.
Most notably, the report makes it clear that the “voluntary approach has failed” on issues of sustainability. It warns that although some parts of the fashion industry are making progress in reducing their carbon and water consumption, these improvements have been outweighed by the increased volumes of clothing being sold. And it concludes that a voluntary approach to improving the sustainability of the fashion industry is failing with just ten fashion retailers signed up to reduce their water, waste and carbon footprints.
