In order to assess the fashion industry's sustainability efforts since the release of the historic "Fixing Fashion" report in 2019, which included 17 policy recommendations—such as tightening the Modern Slavery Act for textiles, lowering microfibre pollution, and creating tax incentives for more sustainable businesses—members of the UK's Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) convened in the Palace of Westminster on Wednesday, May 1, Vogue Business reported.
In summary, although a few modest pilot initiatives have shown promise, voluntary action is far from sufficient, and the volume of fashion is still rising well beyond sustainable levels. "There has been a significant surge in the amount of fashion. Because of excessive market stimulation, fast fashion has evolved into instant fashion. Professor Dilys Williams, creator and head of the University of the Arts London's Centre for Sustainable Fashion, said the committee that "we have an imperative that is far more clear now."
The UK government denied implementing the majority of the EAC's 2019 proposals, which have since grown to be important pillars in the EU's attempt to pass sustainable and circular fashion laws (select committees like the EAC cannot enact policies directly, they can only push the government to). "We observed that the administration ignored every advice made by the committee following the release of the Fixing Fashion report. According to Hilary Marsh, advisor for garment policy at Transform Trade, "this inquiry needs to be reopened to grapple with the government's total failure to act since the publication of the report."
Brands and retailers were invited to share insights and report on progress, alongside answering the committee members’ questions — some of which seemingly demonstrated a lack of awareness around the complexity of sustainable fashion, or the ability to interrogate issues around fast fashion further.
In order to support their efforts, brands were requested to provide evidence about the size of their social and environmental impacts, the improvements they have made in the last five years, how government policies and initiatives have assisted them, or could assist them, and what more they want to do in the future. Fifteen of the brands that were invited chose not to go. During the discussion, Philip Dunne, the chair of the EAC and a member of Ludlow MP, stated that this demonstrated that these businesses were "not prepared to stand up to their own corporate responsibilities."
This covers the following retailers: Ebay, Vinted, Depop; secondhand platforms: Matalan, TK Maxx, Asos, I Saw It First, Shein, Asda, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, New Look, Next, Sainsbury's, and Tesco. (The day after the meeting, written testimony was submitted by Asos, Asda, and Depop.)
The only brands present were H&M and Boohoo. They "had the courage to come and sit before the committee," Dunne praised.
The current Parliament was coming to the end of its tenure on Wednesday. (Parliament changes hands every five years after national elections). Committee staff will now compile a draft report based on the information presented to committee members for discussion. Based on the suggestions, the study might become a public report with additional policy recommendations or a letter to the head of state. These are the main conclusions from the discussion.
Fast fashion in the hot seat
Committee members took the time to interrogate H&M and Boohoo about their business procedures while they were present. Thrift+ founder and CEO Joe Metcalfe, Oxfam trading director Lorna Fallon, and Marcus Hartmann, head of public affairs at H&M, and Andrew Reaney, departing director of responsible sourcing, group product operations, and wholesale at Boohoo, participated in a panel discussion.
While Boohoo has over 40 UK suppliers, H&M does not. The English city of Leicester has been the subject of allegations of worker exploitation in recent years. The MP for Leicester East, Claudia Webbe, used her allotted time to grill Boohoo. According to her statement to Vogue Business, "there are hundreds of millions globally employed making garments, but unsafe conditions, poverty pay, and abuse are rife"; these problems stem from Boohoo's supply chain and are "a global issue." "Government mandated measures and a statutory garment regulator are the solution to ensure that goods are made ethically and are only imported if this can be proven."
The discussion only touched the surface of fashion's sustainability issues due to time constraints, witness shortages, and a dearth of investigators with specialized sector knowledge. Brand representatives cited their use of "post-consumer" materials, such as Better Cotton and recycled polyester (referred to as "post-consumer" by Boohoo's Reaney), as proof of their shift to more sustainable materials, without providing any information about the drawbacks of Better Cotton or the reality that recycled polyester is essentially plastic bottles. Manufacturer and worker voices were also conspicuously absent, according to Marsh of Transform Trade. "The committee neglected to delve further into the effects of the industry on people, who are inextricably linked to the environment."
As brands do not own the majority of their factories, attendees Tamara Cincik, founder and CEO of the think tank Fashion Roundtable and secretariat to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion and Hairdressing, adds, "I would have liked to hear more interrogation on Tier 2 and Tier 3 responsibilities." "This is a central issue, not a default one."
Reducing waste is a top concern
The issue of waste was discussed in both panels of the meeting; solutions ranged from increased investment in recycling infrastructure—a hot topic in recent months—to a fee on new items for extended producer responsibility (EPR) and ecodesign principles to boost recyclability.
The current system for handling post-consumer textiles is largely based on secondhand retail and export, which is not equitable nor long-term viable. According to Thrift+'s Metcalfe, "the charity retail sector is fueled by the 10,000 charity shops that are run by 100,000 volunteers who sift through our old clothing and significant tax breaks for the charity sector." Although the government has historically ignored EPR for textiles, participants expressed optimism that this would alter following a general election. "It's evident that there is a desire to address waste, but without EPR, we cannot take it on head-on." Cincik says. When combined with the appropriate infrastructure and strategy, the end-of-life market presents a growth potential for the sector. /BGNES