Waste news and archive

Spain launches pilot for large-scale textile waste management

The Spanish Association for the Management of Textile Waste, FEMP (Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces) and some of the largest fashion companies are joining forces to tackle textile waste ahead of the EU regulation for the Collective System of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles and footwear (SCRAP), which is...

Background|Long read

How (not) sustainable is the fashion industry?

Fashion and 'sustainability' don't actually go together. A garment is usually made in such a way that it quickly goes out of fashion. In the fashion industry there is not only stylistic obsolescence, but also technical obsolescence. Some clothing is of such low quality that it tears, pills or loses its colour after a few wears and washes. Ideal...

Fashion

UK government announces new efforts to curb textile waste

The UK government has announced new efforts to reduce the amount of fashion that ends up in landfills. A new programme, called ‘Maximising Resources, Minimising Waste’, brings together a range of measures backed by government funding, focusing on seven key sectors, including textiles, plastics/packaging, and furniture. The aim of the programme...

Fashion|IN-DEPTH Featured

How demand-driven fashion could clean up the industry

Fashion companies face the constant challenge of having to guess which and how many garments they will sell months before they are available for consumers to buy. The speculative nature of the supply chain has led to rampant overproduction and waste, further compounded in recent years by the explosive growth of fast-fashion. But what’s the...

Retail

Managing unsold products: what happens to surplus stock?

Across the globe, stores are being affected by country-wide lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the situation presenting fashion stores with several challenges, including the dilemma of what to do with unsold stock. While the issue has been particularly significant in the fast-fashion sector, small businesses have also been impacted,...