Study Looks at Need for Greater Textile Recycling Push
Wednesday, February 6, 2019 - 14:31:34
Research carried out by the Waste and Resources Action Programme has concluded that more needs to be done in order to improve the volumes of old clothing and other fabrics which are collected and recycled in the UK.
Analysts found that in an average year British consumers dump fashion items worth a cumulative £140 million in with their general waste, meaning that the items simply end up in landfill sites rather than being put to good use in a more sustainable manner.
This comes as the rush to buy new clothing on a more regular basis increases, with more than 1.1 million tonnes sold annually to UK buyers alone.
Fashion outlets are now upping the churn rate for the items they sell, by making them cheaply and selling them at bargain prices and then expecting consumers to wear them for short periods before moving on to new outfits at the end of the season.
Report spokesperson Peter Maddox said that clothing is one of the biggest environmental issues facing the world at the moment, with the massive consumption of resources associated with the production of cheap garments also leading to excessive output of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.
Because of this, experts are calling for improved recycling efforts and campaigns to raise awareness about the issues associated with frivolous fashion purchases.
Fabrics which are collected and reused or recycled to make new clothes can have a huge impact on the sustainability of the fashion industry as a whole. This could also overcome some of the ethical issues associated with sourcing garments from parts of the world where labour is cheap and working conditions are not held to the same high standards that can be expected in the UK.
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