It has long been known that the fashion and clothing sectors generate much waste, however new figures highlight consumers are just as wasteful. WRAP, the Waste Resources Action Programme, has revealed UK consumers have over 30 billion pounds worth of clothing in their wardrobes that haven't been worn for over a year. Over 91 million pounds worth of clothing is discarded after just one wear and over 140 million pounds of clothing and shoes are thrown into landfills each year, rather than being recycled.

Clothing sector must reduce carbon, water and waste

These atrocious figures have led to SCAP, the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan, to commit to a reduction in waste by the year 2020. The targets included a 15 percent reduction in carbon, water and in waste to landfill, plus a 3.5 percent reduction in waste arising, per tonne of clothing by 2020.

Retailers including Tesco, M&S, Next and Stella McCartney are among 53 retailers and suppliers in the clothing sector who have committed to reduce the environmental impacts of clothing across its lifecycle.

The average person in the UK buys 27 clothing items per year with average household spending 1,700 pounds per year on clothing.

The SCAP Footprint Calculator has been introduced to help a retailer or brand to calculate the carbon, water and waste footprints of its whole garment portfolio. In addition it helps recyclers and collectors measure the carbon, water and waste impact for their processes and impact of changing waste destinations.

The tool will help organizations prioritise their opportunities to take action, and an online Knowledge Hub will help signatories product development teams identify how they can reduce the footprint of individual garments they design and source.

In addition SCAP has launched a Love Your Clothes initiative, which helps consumers to make their clothes last longer, reduce the environmental impact of laundering clothes, deal with unwanted clothes, and most importantly make the most of your wardrobe.