Rachel Van Metre Kibbe’s Post

👉 Textile consumption in Europe poses significant environmental and climate challenges, with the destruction of returned and unsold textiles being a major concern. Recent studies have highlighted the staggering environmental impact of returned textiles, with up to 5.6 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions attributed to the processing and destruction of these products. It's a huge problem. Sustainability is incredibly important to us, and we feel responsible to do our part. By investing in companies like Known Source, we don't just talk about sustainability – we're taking meaningful action to make a difference. Known Source is at the forefront of promoting sustainability and circularity, and we're proud to be part of their journey. https://lnkd.in/dQYmFJ5U

The NY Fashion Act may not have passed this legislative season, but what it has achieved is so important. Crucially, momentum is also happening from a policy standpoint globally. At #UNEA6, governments called for an inclusive, government-led policy dialogue to empower and facilitate the transition towards a climate neutral, resource efficient and circular textile sector, with the support of the UN Environment Programme. Read more about it here, including inputs from Türkiye, the Netherlands, Sweden, Ghana, France and Tunisia. https://lnkd.in/e5NSFPgv #policy #sustainablefashion #circularity #actonfashion

A leading example of our coaltion members championing our efforts! See below for what ThredUp said in their Q1 Earnings on American Circular Textiles (ACT)! "As we remain committed to balancing purpose and profits, it’s also worth noting how we’re driving impact beyond our core business. We’ve recently started to see our advocacy efforts take shape at the federal level. As a founding member of the American Circular Textiles coalition, we helped advocate for the inclusion of $14 billion of incentives for textile circularity in the #AmericasAct, a bipartisan trade bill that was introduced by U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy and Michael Bennett in March. This is a historic moment as it’s the first time federal legislation has contemplated circular fashion. We believe recognizing circularity’s potential to strengthen the U.S. economy from both an environmental and international trade perspective is a huge step forward for the industry. Until fashion is no longer one of the most damaging sectors of the global economy, we will continue to advocate for the government to provide resources that make fashion and textile industries more sustainable and planet-friendly."

A circular economy depends on a lot of moving (and sometimes competing) parts to become a reality: it requires integrated innovations, a complete consumer behavior overhaul, political action and policy creation, and complete buy-in across the entire, end-to-end supply chain. In other words: it requires all of us.   Read more about some of the folks who are all-in on making #circularity a reality - like SuperCircle, Debrand, Trashie, ACT (American Circular Textiles) (and our very own Luke Henning's take in the article, too) here: https://lnkd.in/e5PsXbbZ via Rebecca Deczynski Inc. Magazine #circearth #circulareconomy #sustainablefashion #textileindustry

The UK spends more on clothing 💷 than any other EU country and annually disposes of a whopping 336,000 tonnes of clothing 👖 through landfill or energy recovery methods. Recognising the detrimental impact of fast fashion, the UK has identified textiles as the next priority for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), with EU regulations ⚖ expected in 2025. This shift towards sustainability 🔄 is poised to become a prevalent trend in the clothing industry. To successfully implement EPR for textiles, advancements in design, reprocessing, and local markets are crucial. As both the government and clothing industry pursue regulatory measures, we have been at the forefront of efforts to find solutions. We view this environmental challenge as a complex issue and alongside Reconomy Group partners ReBound and other stakeholders we are exploring various initiatives to engage with the sector and drive change. For further information, please refer to page 17 of our 2022 Sustainability Report available at: https://okt.to/8qM2UJ #clothingwaste #textilewaste #TextileCollections #textilerecycling #ExtendedProducerResponsbility #EPRforTextiles #fashionindustry #recycling #CircularEconomy #circularity #SustainabilityReport

New report | What do people want from a greener fashion industry? The current system is broken. Global growth in clothing production has outstripped GDP growth while the use per item has fallen leading to significant impacts on climate and nature, including: 🏭 5-10% of global emissions 💧 20% of industrial water pollution 🚮 73% of waste clothing is sent directly to landfill 👗 Up to 40% manufactured clothing is never sold or worn The UK public want things to change, and new polling suggests they expect government to intervene, with overwhelming support for: 🎯 Targets for reduction, reuse and recycling 📄 Standards to improve durability ❌ Banning the destruction of unsold goods The government can be sure that if it acts, public opinion will be behind it. Read the full analysis here 👉 https://bit.ly/3xL3yQj #EarthDay2024

Enough with empty ESG talk. Time for common sense regulation and a future we can be excited about. Our community is all sharing their sadness at this news. Sadness implies disappointment. We knew this was going to happen. We are, and will continue to be, stuck in pilot project only mode until we have common sense legislation. Let this be the clearest rallying cry. Enough with empty ESG talk, noncommittal multi-stakeholder initiatives and related pilot project investments. Every company and organization in this industry must recognize that this change will not happen on its own. Our industry operates within a broader market economy that rewards short term profit maximization. Without parallel commonsense legislation that singular pursuit will run counter to making the necessary investments to make the transition to a green economy. We, the people working to advance the Fashion Act, are waiting for your participation and your active support. We need to move beyond greenwishing. Lean in, reach out. Your silence will be seen for what it is -- that your company or organization is part of the problem. We don't want that. We can have nice things in our economy, our economic system can thrive with basic guardrails in place. Renewcell is an important part of the Fashion Act coalition as are Evrnu®, SPC, Kintra Fibers, Smartex.ai, Alchemie Technology Ltd, EON, Stella McCartney, Ganni A/S, Cotopaxi, Another Tomorrow, Vestiaire Collective, Houdini Sportswear, Mara Hoffman, Patagonia, Reformation, Everlane, Subset and ShareAction because they recognize that the green transition needs common sense law to enable it. The Fashion Act is pro business. It's pro the future of this industry. We hope with great expectation that you will be a part of that future. What will your legacy be? Reach out. We want you in. We're thinking of you, Renewcell team, and fighting for you. Ken Pucker George Harding-Rolls Sophia Li Amanda Lee McCarty Samata Pattinson FRSA Alec Leach Thania P. Aditi Mayer Max Easton Betina Baumgarten Michelle Gabriel Jeanine Ballone https://lnkd.in/g6A_z4jC

Research by Pwc for Green Alliance, published earlier this week, found that businesses in the clothing industry can make money with reuse business models. They confirmed that real reductions in environmental impact are not supported by increasing the volume of new items. Green Alliance also surveyed the UK public about what kinds of policies they want to see and found more support for limiting overproduction and supporting reuse, than for recycling. Read the report https://lnkd.in/ecdKU2fW

The latest Green Alliance report calls for urgent action from both government and businesses to tackle the wastefulness of fast fashion. It outlines key steps needed to build a more sustainable textiles industry. Ray Georgeson, Head of Policy at Zero Waste Scotland, commented: “It instinctively feels wrong for unsold goods and clothes to be destroyed without being used or worn, and the evidence of public views on this in the Green Alliance report overwhelmingly back that instinct. "Zero Waste Scotland continues to support the Scottish Government in bringing forward proposals for a ban on the disposal of unsold goods, which is a key feature of the Circular Economy (Scotland) Bill currently being considered by the Scottish Parliament.”  #FashionRevolutionWeek #CircularEconomy