Are you doing your bit to keep textiles out of UK landfill sites?
The fashion and textiles sector has always been a significant contributor to the global economy, creating millions of jobs around the world. But as demand increases production and consumption continue to grow, giving rise to the ‘fast-fashion’ crisis and the ‘take, make, dispose’ method of mass production for future sales. The industry is widely condemned for its unsustainable use of water, land, fossil fuels and energy, and the manufacturing processes that involve toxic chemicals, waste and pollution, and exploited labour practices. This has a huge negative impact on the industry as a whole and as the world faces the reality of disastrous climate change effects, we need to act urgently.
WRAP is a charity, who work with governments, businesses and individuals all over the world to ensure the resources we use are sustainable and have a positive impact on our environment. They provide evidence-based solutions to protect the environment, build stronger economies and support more eco-friendly societies across all aspects of our lifecycle –food, clothing and products. Waste management though sustainable product design, re-using, recycling around food and drink, plastic packaging, clothing and textiles is at the heart of all they do.
Recycling old clothes
Recycled Clothing Banks do all we can to support the mission and values of WRAP buy installing completely FREE branded recycled clothing bins in public spaces for communities to donate their pre-loved clothing, paired shoes and household textiles. Recycling old clothes to help the environment, is a positive step forward in tackling our climate change issues and you can also earn £400 based on every tonne of textiles we collect. We are currently working with village halls, scouts/girl guides, local authorities and private businesses to generate funds as well as create awareness of the benefits of recycling old clothes to help the environment.
A recent report published by WRAP ‘Valuing Our Clothes: the cost of UK fashion’ details the latest research on the environmental impacts of the clothing industry in the UK and gives the latest progress of the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) so far
- SCAP members have outperformed industry – reducing carbon, water, and waste
- The amount of clothing in household residual waste has reduced by 50,000 tonnes
- 700,000 tonnes CO2e saved through people changing their clothing care habits
- Switching to sustainable fibres offers the biggest opportunities for environmental savings
Small changes at home can make a big impact too. According to P&G, 90% of the energy used in a wash load comes from heating water. Their Ariel brand team reviewed research conducted by the Energy Saving Trust, which confirms that washing at 30°C rather than 40°C reduces your energy consumption up to 57% per wash cycle. This would save almost 3.5million tonnes of CO2 per year which is the equivalent of taking 2 million cars off the road.
Contact us today and talk to us about installing a textiles recycling bin near you and start doing more to keep our planet healthy.