UK consumers are purchasing new clothing at a faster rate than their counterparts in mainland Europe. The average household generates more than 35 kg waste clothing annually, with 85 per cent being sent to landfill. The Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) was founded in 2012 in a bid to help big-name fashion brands minimise their waste, water and carbon footprints while sourcing more sustainable materials.

More than 80 companies have signed up to the plan to date, including ASOS, Next and Primark. By selecting more sustainably-produced fibers such as cotton and viscose, SCAP signatories have reduced the lifetime water footprint per ton of clothing they produce by 15 per cent. The signatories have also reduced their collective carbon footprint by 11.9 per cent and have made moves to become more resource-efficient, such as redesigning their approach to pattern cutting or donating factory offcuts to be upcycled.

On a global scale, the fashion industry is now estimated to be producing more than 100 billion garments and 20 billion shoes per year. The sector currently accounts for ten per cent of global carbon emissions and employs around one in every seven people worldwide, with the majority of employees being women working in garment factories.