A Critical Evaluation of Environmental and

Social Sustainability in Arcadia Group

‘Fashion Footprint’ Programme

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the MSc

Environment and Sustainable Development

Word count: 10,105

Shantanu Prasad Baruva

Development Planning Unit

University College London

15th

September 2014

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Table of Content

Introduction 4

Background 5

Literature Review 7

Methodology 15

Case of the Sustainable Clothing

Roadmap

17

Case of Arcadia Group: Fashion

Footprint

23

Conclusion 35

Bibliography 38

Appendices 42

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Acknowledgement

I would like to thank my supervisor Liza Griffin for her guidance and support

throughout the dissertation process. I would like to acknowledgement London

Collage of Fashion to let me use their library and Development Planning Unit for

their help. I would to specially like to thank Nanadini Baruva, Padminee

Chaliha, Thomas Skeen and Martina Heuser for their support and

encouragement.

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Introduction

According to the Guardian, ‘Fast Fashion’ is defined as a “contemporary term used by

fashion retailers to express that designs move from catwalk quickly in order to capture

current fashion trends. Trends are designed and manufactured quickly and cheaply to

allow the mainstream consumer to take advantage of current clothing styles at a lower

price”. The main idea behind fast fashion is quicker production in a cost-efficient

manner. Marketing is key within the fast fashion industry. It has been argued by some

scholers that the success of fast fashion has outputs at different stages of production

and supply chain. Due to the fast moving nature of the industry, there is increased

pressure at different levels of the supply chain to deliver high quantities of products

within a stricter time frame. The impact of this pressure is highlighted in the Rana

Plaza tragedy. The clothing industry is extremely important for the economic

development of many countries of the Global South. Due to loopholes in regulation,

there have been many incidents such as industrial disaster, slave labour, child labour

and abuse, to name a few. Due to the extended reach of media and globalisation,

awareness of such incidents occurring in the Global South is reaching the consumers

of the North. Hence, consumers are becoming more aware about the product they are

using. Fashion firms are making extra effort to work with the countries of Global

South in order to bring in changes which are socially sustainable, recognising the

value of the factory worker.

This thesis looks into the extent to which Arcadia Group contributes meaningfully

towards environmental and social sustainability with their programme of ‘fashion

footprint’. The thesis simultaneously looks into the government-led, industry-

supported Sustainable Clothing Action Plan, (SCAP), which is the main programme

in U.K. aimed at making the fashion sector more sustainable and most of the high

street fashion brands are its signatories. The question this thesis addresses is: to what

extent does corporate social responsibility (CSR) contribute meaningfully towards

environmental and social sustainability with reference to ‘fashion footprint’

programme and SCAP?

The thesis uses literature on sustainable development, CSR and greenwash, focussing

on Baker’s model of sustainable development, Dahlsrud’s dimensions of CSR, UL’s

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seven sins of greenwash and Moon’s drivers of CSR. This is followed by a case study

of SCAP and the ‘fashion footprint’ programme of Arcadia Group in context of the

literature used, concluding with an alternate perspective on the achievement of

sustainability within the fashion industry.

Background

In the UK, around two million tonnes of clothing are purchased per annum, with the

fast/discount fashion sector (characterised by low cost, short lifetime garments)

making up one-fifth of the UK market. We discard approximately one million tonnes

of unwanted clothing a year – 50% of which ends up in landfill. As 90% of the UK’s

clothing is imported, our activities have a significant overseas “footprint”, particularly

in India, China and other developing countries (Maxwell, 2010).

The garment industry in Bangladesh has grown unregulated during the last two

decades. Today around 4 million workers are involved within the garment industry

and it is the single most important export industry. There are around 5,000 factories

within the sector and in total the industry is valued at around 450 billion dollars. The

garment industry provides independence for women, as most of the employees in the

sector are women, constituting more than 80% of the workforce. However, owing to

the fact that they are at the bottom of the supply chain, they have to deal with long

working hours and low levels of pay (High St Fashion: Weaving New Threads, 2014).

An example for a garment plant disaster is the Rana Plaza tragedy that took place on

24 April 2013 in Dhaka, Bangladesh killing 1,138 people and injuring more than

2,500. The building had planning permission to build up to two floors, but in fact had

six floors constructed with foundations, which were not strong enough to support the

structure. As a result of the disaster the government shut down 18 garment plants

immediately (BBC, 2013).

As a result of the Rana Plaza disaster, more than 100 retailers and brands, including

Arcadia, Marks & Spencer, Next and Primark, have signed up to a legally binding

deal to help improve factory safety in Bangladesh known as the “Accord on Fire and

Building Safety in Bangladesh”. Those brands that are involved contribute £309,718 a

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year towards inspections and training to improve safety. The group has the backing of

international union IndustriALL and is supported by workers' rights pressure groups

including the Clean Clothes Campaign. The group is also working with the

Bangladeshi government to support in funding any repairs required at unsafe factories

brought to light by the inspection and committed to providing whatever money is

required to get the job done (Butler, 2013).

‘Fashion’ can be differentiated from ‘clothing’, with the former being a personal

symbolic statement whereas latter denotes everyday basic garments. In the UK, on

average a party top is only worn 1.7 times. A high street retailer claimed

anonymously that during the recession, their profit increased by 30 percent. During

the same time, the conditions of the workers in the factories worsened: many workers

experience abuse such as being beaten, sexually harassed, shouted out, and bullied.

The fashion industry is highly consumeristic in nature. The consumer attitude and

behaviour plays an important role in order for brands to innovative and create new

products (Busch, 2012).

The supply chain within the fashion industry is buyer driven. Retailers constantly

change what they sell in their shops to make consumers return to the shop again and

again. If deadlines are not met due to delays in the factories, the cost associated with

this is borne by the factories themselves. To improve the conditions in the factory, the

costs should be passed on to the consumers. According to Tau Investment

Management, if we wait for consumers to make change, then it is already too late

(BBC Radio 4, 2014).

In the UK, and particularly in London, there has been a rise of billboards, especially

those which are illumined or feature video displays. This is an important way to gain

attention and for retailers to spread their message, especially to working professionals.

Advertising within the fashion industry uses a top down approach, and the message is

often conveyed to consumers through the use of celebrity or language of passion and

addiction (Neuberg, 2012).

Sustainable fashion, also known as ‘Eco Chic’ is a combination of four factors:

economic, ecological, social and cultural; i.e. using a holistic approach, economic,

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ecological, social and cultural factors can achieve sustainability at different stages of

the supply chain, ranging from high street consumers to labourers in the global south.

Are brands on Bond Street and 5th

Avenue helping to achieve sustainable livelihoods

within the producer communities of the global south, where there is institutional

corruption, grey labour law and improper implementation of regulations (Black,

2013).

The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) produces The Sustainable

Clothing Action Plan (SCAP), a government funded organisation, aiming to improve

sustainability within the clothing and fashion sector by bringing together government,

industry and the third sector. It involved major retailers, recyclers, brands, sector

bodies and charities and has four working groups: design, reuse and recycle,

influencing consumer behaviour and metrics. They have a SCAP 2020 target, aiming

to reduce the environmental footprint within the sector. Some of the retailers included

are Arcadia Group, ASOS, John Lewis, New Look, Next, Sainsbury's, Stella

McCartney, Ted Baker and the Centre for Sustainable Fashion (London College of

Fashion) (SCAP, 2014).

Literature Review

Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR can be defined as “an attempt to achieve

commercial success in ways that honors ethical value and respect people,

communities and natural environment” (Bhattacharya and Sen 2004). Most studies of

CSR look into consumer satisfaction and is an important part of an organisation with

large budgets. CSR policies and communications are supposed to be the core of the

company’s ethical perception and social legitimacy. According to empirical research,

there is a negative impact on the company for any alleged irresponsible acts whereas

there is a positive impact if the company is reliable and responsible. CSR can be

classified into controlled and un-controlled. Controlled CSR is company-planned

communications, designed to create brand equity. Un-controlled CSR is through word

of mouth, NGOS, and mass media communications, on which the company has no

control. External sources of information, from the media, consumer groups and NGOs

about the CSR activities of a company, play a vital role in shaping the future CSR

activities of a company (Parguel et al 2014).

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Today for business, social, political and environmental factors are the drivers of CSR

actions around the world. According to some authors, firms are undertaking much

more responsibility to do social good, more than simply what is required by the law.

Environmentally responsible business practices are increasing due to the firms want to

do good, which benefits the society. According to research on environmental

management practices by companies, companies are increasing the amount of

activities in order to decrease their impact to the environment while adapting steps for

efficient environmental management. Among the environmental, social and economic

pillars of CSR, natural environment is increasing its momentum and its importance.

Organisations are using paradigm to maintain a relationship with the natural and

social environment around them (Shrivastava, 1995). Voluntary acts, such as

reduction of waste and emissions from operations, involvement in voluntary

environmental restoration, eco-design practices, and the extent to which an

organisation conserves natural resources shows the environmental concerns of the

company by addressing environmental responsibilities. Regulation and social

responsibility for the environment is governed by legal and social requirements for

corporate environmental management addressing the environmental impact. The

literature suggests organisations develop environmental strategy through a complex

web of the requirements of customers, shareholders, investors or employees, turning

environmentalism from an external factor of market to a core objective of the firm.

More recently market attitudes also drive the environmental interest in CSR. It is

reported that environmental performance development leads to improved financial

performance of the firm, for the stakeholder, environment has become the most

important of concerns for a company’s CSR strategies (Babiak and Trendafilova,

2011).

It is uncertain in both the corporate and academic worlds as to how CSR should be

defined. According to Van Marrewijk (2003) it is often based on the companies’

specific interest, which in turn does not allow the concept to develop and implement

itself. In other words the companies are biased in nature. But in having said so there is

no evidence to support the same as there is no such methodology that has been coined

to verify the biasness. The question that arises now is how to understand CSR by the

way it is defined. The social, environmental and economic dimensions are merely

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different categories of impacts from business. In all the definitions, CSR is described

as phenomenon rather than the social responsibilities of business (Marrewijk, 2003).

In definition, firstly, CSR has often been linked with different fundamental strategic

purposes like legitimacy, responsibility for externality, and competitive advantage.

Then again there is a variation according to its substantive content. Thirdly, there may

be variation in the approach method employed to identify responsibilities and assess

the practices, especially the policies that are stakeholder oriented or around which

moral ethics or values have been developed (Clarkson, 1995).

Both CSR and sustainable development are considered as valued and not just simply

experimental concepts. It is considered a good quality of an organisation or an activity

to be socially responsible or for manifesting sustainable development. Having said

that, there is a high possibility that organisations or activities be described in terms of

trying to build their image. Since each stakeholder brings with it different principles

and opportunities, which in turn gives rise to many different values and expectations

in relation to the corporation they are connected with, there is a sense of pressure felt

in CSR in trying to balance different economic, legal, ethical and social

responsibilities. By definition, sustainability plans to address the effects of the usage

of ecological dependency and planetary wide social or local behaviours (Moon,

2007).

This process identified five dimensions, namely the environmental dimension based

on the natural environment, the social dimension based on the relation between

business and society, the economic dimension based on economic development, the

stakeholder dimension based on the interaction with their stakeholders and lastly

voluntariness dimension based on ethical values. Even though the environmental

dimension is considered a part of CSR, it has received a significantly lower dimension

ratio than the other dimensions. The question that arises now is how to understand

CSR by the way it is defined. The social, environmental and economic dimensions are

merely different categories of impacts from business. In all the definitions, CSR is

described as phenomenon rather than social responsibilities of business. It can be

concluded that among the many definitions of CSR that are available there is one

thing that is common and that is that they consistently refer to the five dimensions.

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Although the definitions describe a phenomenon, they fail to present any guidelines as

to how to manage the challenges within this phenomenon. Therefore, the prime

challenge for business is not to define CSR, but to understand how CSR is socially

constructed and how to develop business strategies taking the social dimension into

account (Dahlsrud, 2008).

Application of both CSR and sustainable development has always been a part of

debate as to their meaning as these two are essentially contested concepts. There is an

argument as to what the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has to offer,

as it compels corporations to act responsible socially which in turn includes

contributions to the agenda of sustainable development. CSR has often been criticised

for its conventional argument that managers’ main responsibilities are towards the

shareholders and that governments bear the responsibility for social well-being. The

best way to understand CSR is by looking at it as a component of new systems of

societal governance. Through a theoretical model of business strategy based upon the

resource and through examples of business policies of a firm, the application of

sustainable development agenda can be indicated (Moon, 2007)

A number of CSR consultants, whose main aim, are not only to promote CSR but also

to bring a critical perspective and to elevate current CSR standards. The consultants,

along with many consumer groups and NGOs have divided the drivers of CSR to the

following (Chapple and Moon, 2005; Kolk, 2005; Moon, 2004).

Market Drivers

Market is the main source of the CSR policies of a firm. The firm’s main

focus is to increase market share and increase the return on investment and

they determine the firm’s CSR activities.

Social Drivers

Even though it is apparent that consumers, employees and investors are

noticeable social drivers, NGO pressure, media attention, general social

expectations and business associations and coalitions for CSR are also worth

mentioning.

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Governmental Drivers

Governments can give support to socially responsible business at the most

basic level, as it was illustrated by former Conservative Secretary of State for

the Environment, Michael Heseltine, who addressed the issues of

unemployment and urban decay in the early 1980s and encouraged the

business leaders to take up these issues. It is worth mentioning that the

government in the UK is a leader in having a Ministry for CSR and a minister

who formulate various policies and initiatives to persuade companies to be

more socially responsible.

Globalisation

Globalisation opportunities for business organisations develop new labor

markets, social principles, and protection of natural resources. But ironically,

globalisation also generates fresh imperatives for business legitimacy across

borders, which can drive the CSR activities of the business.

This has generated a number of new types of business behavior in order to manage

and report CSR. In order to enable themselves, individually, for better articulation and

implementation of CSR across various countries where they operate and have their

global supply chains, companies are developing many corporate codes. Jointly, the

companies are signing up to organisations such as the UN Global Compact and the

International Business Leaders Forum in order to advance the CSR system. Through

the Global Reporting Initiative some companies have gone as far as to agree to report

their international CSR. Research shows that companies that work across boundaries,

are those that pay more attention to their CSR, as opposed to companies who operate

only in one country, and are also concerned about the local CSR agenda (Chapple and

Moon, 2005).

Sustainable Development as defined by the Brundtland Commission "development

that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future

generations to meet their own needs." The United Nations Millennium Declaration

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identified principles and treaties on sustainable development, environmental

protection, social development, and economic development (Burton, 1987).

The term sustainable development can be interpreted to have a diverse range of

meanings. There are different approaches of policy imperative with the promotion of

the concept of sustainable development. The different approaches give an indication

of how different corporations, organizations, and individuals consider the

environment. These can be classified into the ladder of sustainable development

ranging from the ‘ideal model’, which is highly eco-centric to ‘pollution control’

being highly anthropocentric. (Baker, 2006)

Wahba (2008) explored the relationship between institutional investors and

environmental responsibility and found that environmental responsibility has a

significant positive effect on investors, when the financial performance was high. It is

suggested that if the top levels of management are committed to the environment, it

influences the whole organisation to develop different types of environmental

practices for the whole corporation. Most businesses are recognising and actively

paying attention to the strategic prospect of doing environmental good. Businesses

understand the negative impact they have caused on the environment, and addressing

the problem with advertising, legal resource and build relationship with key

stakeholders that can help them to save money. The environmental and social

challenge is multidimensional and so complex that businesses need to work with

NGOs and governments to reach a sustainable solution. Environmentally focused

CSR for many organisations is valued as driver which cannot be seen in traditional

financial terms. CSR can be seen as a source of innovation, opportunity and

competitive advantage rather than constraint, cost or charitable deed. The media plays

an important role in scrutinising the business. Businesses see using the doing good

environmental deeds as a method of creating positive public perception, especially

with consumers favouring ‘go green’ policies, hence promoting green initiatives,

building goodwill and potentially increasing their customer base (Babiak and

Trendafilova, 2011).

Companies, which employ a self-benefit CSR positioning, showed a result where the

consumers were more likely to buy their products. It was also found that the effect of

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the CSR beneficiary positioning on purchase intention depended up on product type,

situation, and self-monitoring level. People pay more attention to information about

companies’ CSR efforts, especially when the management motivation impression is

high lightened. As a way to fulfil the companies social obligations and to enhance

their profit and sustainability and also because consumers have increased their

interests in CSR, companies are actively investing in CSR activities.

There are hints in some existing research that whenever there is a conflict or

difference of interest between consumers, who prefer to purchase high quality

product, and social, who prefer to purchase pro-social products, the consumer

hesitates to sacrifice their own interest for social interest (De Cremer and Van Dijk,

2002). So that the CSR information is considered as relevant to be used by consumers

in making their purchase decisions, more effort must be put forward to find ways that

will allow the consumers to make informed choices.

When a company lacks the capability or innovativeness to indulge or participate in

meaningful CSR activities, the satisfaction level of a consumer also decreases. When

the CSR domain of the company is related with the company’s existing products or

when the CSR domain is related with corporate capability, it has a positive effect on

the purchase decision of the consumer. The reason behind this is that the ethicality of

a company is positively or negatively associated with the gentleness and strength

related attributes of the product (Kim, et al., 2014). It is because of these two reasons

that the efforts of CSR have little effect on the decision making process of the

consumer. While the focus of pro-social consumers’ purchase is on altruistic goals

pursuing social or public interest, consumers’ purchase behavior inherently focuses on

selfish goals pursuing their own interests. Unless consumers are inherently altruistic

or have a high regard for ethical consumption, consumers generally purchase products

for their family, friends or for themselves (Collins et al., 2007). Based on an

accessibility-diagnostically framework, there are some researchers that suggest that

the association of CSR in purchase decision is not diagnostic in nature and does not

lead to purchasing, whereas a company’s capability association is diagnostic in nature

and thus leads to purchasing (Kim, et al, 2014).

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Dahl, in his 2010 paper “Greenwashing: do you know what you’re buying” claims

companies are regularly promoting their image through ‘greenness’ marketing, where

they make overblown or unwarranted claims about environmental friendliness or

sustainability in order to increase their market share. This is not a new phenomenon,

but it is on the increase due to today’s consumers being more environmentally

conscious. This leads to confusion among the public, and critics regarding greenwash

as harmful. It is suggested that it is possible for a clean company to achieve green

marketing by incorporating with an environmental management system, with a

detailed environmental programme which is inline to ISO 14001. A company can also

take part in Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), a widely used corporate reporting

framework.

There are various things that have greatly influenced the evolution of the fashion

apparel industry over the past decade, one being the expansion of the world across

boundaries. Fading of mass production, modified structural characteristics in the

supply chain, desire for low cost and flexibility in design, quality, delivery, and speed

to market are also some of the factors which have influenced the ever changing

dynamics of the fashion industry. There is an indication that a competitive edge can

be gained by the retailers in the market if they ensure speed by providing fashion

trends rapidly to the consumers, as a result of which the time gap between designing

and consumption on a seasonal basis will be reduced and in turn result in the adoption

of ‘quick fashion’. Fast fashion, similar to the concept of quick response, has been

defined as a business strategy that aims to shrink the processes involved in the buying

cycle and lead times for getting new fashion product into stores, in order to satisfy

consumer demand at its peak (Barnes and Lea-Greenwood 2006).

By actually creating the demand, fast-fashion retailers achieve higher turnover. This

strategy is achieved by creating many more products in smaller quantities by the

retailers, a strategy which is not applied by traditional retailers. A sense of urgency is

created in the minds of the customer when the product which is sold, is replaced, not

with more of what was originally sold out but by a ‘new’ style. The

internationalisation process or the process of increasing involvement of retailers in

international markets of fashion retailers is another important reason for the ever-

changing dynamics of the fashion industry. Studies have been conducted to analyse

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whether it’s a ‘Born-global’ retailers (e.g. Zara) or a ‘Gradual global’ retailer (e.g.

GAP and H&M), the rate of movements for trends and product is extremely fast and

works with tight time frame (Bhardwaj et al., 2011).

Methodology

Using the Model of Sustainable Development by Susan Baker, this thesis will try to

analyse the position of Arcadia Group and SCAP programme. The four modes can be

understood as the following

Model of sustainable development Type of development

Ideal model Right livelihood; meeting needs not

wants; biophysical limit to development

Strong sustainable development Change into patterns and levels of

consumption; shift from growth to non-

material aspect of development;

necessary development of third world

Weak sustainable development Decoupling; reuse, recycle, and repair of

consumer goods; product life-cycle

management

Pollution control Exponential, market-led growth

Source: Adapted from Baker, 2006

The definition of CSR is debatable as there is a degree of uncertainty in the definition,

which is used within the academic and corporate arenas. The definition can be biased

towards specific interest of the group, in accordance with what they are looking to

achieve. However, the use of term CSR by different organisations can be put into five

dimensions (Dahlsrud, 2008):

The Dimensions The definitions

The environmental Working for the betterment of the natural

environment

The social Working for the betterment of the relation

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ships between business and society

The economic Working towards socio-economic aspects

or financial gain, including describing

CSR in terms of a business operation

The stakeholder Working for a better relationship with the

stakeholders or stakeholder

The voluntariness Working on actions not prescribed by law

Source: Adapted from Dahlsrud, 2008

The dimensions from the above table will be used to understand the stand Arcadia

Group and SCAP programme have on their CSR activities.

According to Care2, the world’s largest online community for healthy and green

living, it is not possible within the fashion industry to be sustainable. Brands use

greenwash as a tool mixed within their CSR activities and communication material.

The ‘Seven Sins of Greenwashing’ published by UL, a global independent safety

science company, highlight seven ways how a business or firm conducts greenwash..

This will be used to analyse the Arcadia’s ‘fashion footprint’ programme.

The Seven Sins of Greenwashing

1. Sin of the hidden trade-off: committed by suggesting a product is “green”

based on an unreasonably narrow set of attributes without attention to other

important environmental issues (e.g., paper produced from a sustainably

harvested forest may still yield significant energy and pollution costs).

2. Sin of no proof: committed by an environmental claim that cannot be

substantiated by easily accessible supporting information or by a reliable

third-party certification (e.g., paper products that claim various percentages of

postconsumer recycled content without providing any evidence).

3. Sin of vagueness: committed by every claim that is so poorly defined or broad

that its real meaning is likely to be misunderstood by the consumer (e.g., “all-

natural”).

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4. Sin of irrelevance: committed by making an environmental claim that may be

truthful but is unimportant or unhelpful for consumers seeking

environmentally preferable products (e.g., “CFC-free” is meaningless given

that chlorofluorocarbons are already banned by law).

5. Sin of lesser of two evils: committed by claims that may be true within the

product category, but that risk distracting the consumer from the greater health

or environmental impacts of the category as a whole (e.g., organic cigarettes).

6. Sin of fibbing: committed by making environmental claims that are simply

false (e.g., products falsely claiming to be Energy Star certified).

7. Sin of false labels: committed by exploiting consumers’ demand for third-

party certification with fake labels or claims of third-party endorsement (e.g.,

certification-like images with green jargon such as “eco-preferred”).

Source Sinsofgreenwashing.org

In the following, the SCAP is being analysed with Baker’s ladder of sustainable

development and the Arcadia’s ‘fashion footprint’ programme with Baker’s ladder of

sustainable development and Dahlsrud dimensions of CSR and UL’s seven sins of

greenwashing.

The case of the Sustainable Clothing Roadmap

In 2007, the Sustainable Clothing Roadmap or Plan (SCAP) was launched by Waste

& Resources Action Programme (WRAP), with the aim of improving the

sustainability of clothing across its lifecycle, ranging from the crops that are grown to

make the fabrics, to the design and manufacture of the garment, its retail, use and end

of life. An ambitious aim, but one which is necessary because clothing, whilst an

economic success story globally worth £500 billion, has a significant environmental

and social footprint across its supply chain. High consumption levels, especially in the

developed world, exacerbate this. The roadmap is based on the co-ordinated action of

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key clothing and fashion stakeholders – the people best placed to make effective

improvements throughout their operations.

Starting from a baseline year of 2012, SCAP Signatories have committed to the

following by the end of 2020:

15% reduction in carbon footprint;

15% reduction in water footprint;

15% reduction in waste to landfill; and

3.5% reduction in waste arising over the whole product life cycle.

The seven action areas of the commitment

1. Use a common assessment tool to measure our baseline position and track changes

in footprint over time.

2. Reduce the environmental footprint of clothing through fibre and fabric selection.

3. Over the longer term work with our supply chain partners to reduce the

environmental footprint of their processes.

4. Extend the useful life of clothes and reduce the environmental impact of clothing in

use through our product design and services.

5. Develop effective messaging to influence key consumer behaviours which will

reduce the environmental footprint of clothing.

6. Increase re-use and recycling to recover maximum value from used clothing.

7. Develop actions that help keep clothes out of landfill.

Source: Adapted from SCAP 2020, 2014

Relating the concept of sustainability to clothing means that ideally this would be

clothing which meets the needs of today’s consumers, and is also made, transported,

sold, used and disposed in ways which do not adversely impact people or the planet –

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now or at any time in the future. In practice, achieving this is not straightforward. It

involves trade-offs between different impacts and working out how to prioritise

improvements. The environmental impacts involved in the manufacture of clothing

vary significantly. For example, cotton growth involves significant water use, toxicity

from fertiliser, pesticide and herbicide use, whereas production of synthetic fibres

involves the generation of GHG emissions from the processing of fossil fuels. For all

fibres the dyeing and finishing processes can involve heavy water use resulting in

hazardous waste from pre-treatment chemicals.

The Sustainable Clothing Roadmap has a wide remit in order to ensure that the

relevant data is gathered and that the concept of sustainable clothing is understood in

its fullest sense. As the roadmap develops, it is tightening its focus and working to

agree actions to tackle a series of more defined ‘hot spots’ within the clothing

lifecycle. The Sustainable Clothing Roadmap concept is about bringing together

relevant sector expertise to understand the full picture and develop co-ordinated

action.

Sustainable Design: Promoting Sustainable India

Sustainable Fashion explored and shared knowledge on sustainable design practice. In

India, the industry is a large net foreign exchange earner and a major employment

provider. From poverty wages to water and pesticide use in cotton farming, there is a

wide range of challenging sustainability issues related to the country’s industry.

However, there are also growing numbers of suppliers developing better practices.

This project, involving designers, suppliers of Indian textiles, buyers and

undergraduates from the London College of Fashion, Pearl Academy of Fashion

Delhi and the Amsterdam Fashion Institute aimed to build capacity and explore

market opportunities for using more sustainable Indian textiles. The project developed

an online sourcing toolkit and textile catalogue to help UK-based fashion businesses

develop productive relationships with Indian suppliers and successfully source

sustainable textiles.

This project focused on demonstrating the environmental and business case for eco-

efficiency in Indian dye houses that supply the UK clothing market. Dyeing is

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recognized as being a high impact process that consumes large quantities of water,

energy, and chemicals, and the dyeing industry is known to be one of the major global

polluters. The project selected three dye houses of differing abilities to work with in

order to reduce the amount of water, energy, and chemicals used to dye their products.

Motivating dye house staff to improve processes and data gathering were challenges,

but a key finding was that it is possible to significantly reduce costs and

environmental impacts by simple, low cost actions. In order to maximize progress

though, some capital investment is necessary. Three best practice seminars were held

in India to share the findings with the wider dyeing industry.

Source: Maxwell, 2010

Based on the evidence obtained, the roadmap participants agreed on five key action

areas:

1) Improving environmental performance across the supply chain

2) Consumption trends and behavior

3) Awareness, media, education, and networks

4) Creating market drivers

5) Traceability across the supply chain (ethics, trade, and environment)

At the end of 2010, WRAP commissioned an independent evaluation of the

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and WRAP initiated

voluntary agreements, including the Sustainable Clothing Roadmap. Catalysing

debate and increasing consumer understanding of the concept of sustainable clothing

is also a key part of the roadmap process. Clothing made from certified organic

cotton, recycled polyester clothing and Fair Trade certified clothes are all examples of

actions being taken to improve the sustainability of clothing. Although varying in

levels of sustainability improvement, these kinds of examples help consumers become

aware of their purchases and what their choices mean for the wider world.

This is a global challenge, and the UK is not alone in seeking solutions to the issues

surrounding sustainable clothing. Work continues with international partners to push

for greater action in supplier countries. As population figures rise and prosperity

increases around the globe, the demand for commodities will escalate and only those

21

sectors and businesses within them who are preparing for this future will remain

prosperous. Profitability and sustainability can no longer be seen as irreconcilable

forces, but inextricably linked.

Signatory measuring and reporting: measuring progress is a tool developed under

SCAP. Using the SCAP Footprint Calculator, Signatories can calculate and keep a

track of their baseline carbon, water, and waste footprints. Since reporting is an

annual process, the signatories will be able to use the SCAP Footprint Calculator to

calculate their carbon, water and waste footprints in a reliable and steady way.

Through an auto-generated form by the calculator, signatories will be able to report

on their progress.

Year-on-year improvement:

With revised sector averages relating to in operation and waste destination data; The

SCAP Footprint Calculator will be updated yearly with a new edition that will be sent

to signatories for use during that year.

Supply-side

By using the outputs from ‘what if?’ scenario modeling and preceding years’ results,

Supply-side organizations will be able to calculate the following indicators

In-use

Before distributing a new and updated version of the calculator to supply-side and end

of life signatories, data from WRAP measuring consumer behavior will be collated

and included within the calculator each year.

End of life

Using outputs from different runs of the calculator and earlier years’ outcome, end of

life organizations will be able to calculate the following indicators.

The SCAP Footprint Calculator is used for recording the actions of the supporters.

Whenever and where ever it is achievable, it should be seen that there are measures

taken to make these actions more quantitative, say for example a supporter spoke at a

22

conference where xx number of people were present as audience or maybe WRAP

materials were distributed to an xx amount of subscribers, where xx is suggestive of

the amount or quantity. For communication purposes, the Footprint Calculator should

provide a page to be completed by the Supporters. The Supporters includes:

Trade/sector body

Public Sector

Standards body

Not for profit

Source: Adapted from WRAP, 2010

SCAP aims to provide a uniform measurement and monitoring tool for the clothing

industry in UK. The plain emphasis on the need for the fashion industry to reduce

environmental footprint, changing consumer behavior, and using innovative product

design which are eco-friendly, while trying ways to keep out cloths from being

thrown away. Having a baseline and a standardized calculator provide standardized

data among all the signatories. The SCAP included trade/sector body, public sector,

standards body and not for profit sector, which help to make a balance within the

programme.

It could be said SCAP falls between pollution control and weak sustainable

development. SCAP aims to implement reuse, recycle, and manage the product life

cycle from suppliers to consumers, while at the same time focusing on globalization

when it comes to the supply chain. The use of environmental indicator is viable in the

plan, rather then simple market lead indicator.

The case of Arcadia Group: Fashion Footprint

23

Arcadia group is the UK’s second largest retailer with over 2,500 outlets with eight

high street brands – BHS, Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge,

TOPMAN, TOPSHOP and Wallis.

Fashion Footprint is the programme of Arcadia Group to manage and monitor the

environmental and social impact of their business. The programme is headed by

Fashion Footprint Steering Group (FFSG), which comprises of senior members from

their varied businesses. One of the key pillars of the Fashion Footprint programme is

the engagement of the stakeholders, which includes their employees, suppliers,

customers, trade union, governments, non-governmental organisations, students,

campaign groups, competitor and third party service providers. The Fashion Footprint

programme focuses on their products, environment, employees and communities

(Arcadia, 2013).

The break down of fashion footprint programme

Products

Ethical Trading;

o Ethical Audit Programme

o Country Risk Assessments

o RAGS – the Responsible and Accountable Garment

o Sector Project

o Joint Turkey Project

o Strategic Labour Priorities

o Code of Conduct Guidebook

o Management Systems

o Sumangali

o Prohibited Activities

Environmental Impacts of Products; and

Animal Welfare

Environment

Energy efficient and CO2 emission reduction

24

Recycling and waste reduction

Efficient transportation and logistic

Employees

Retail staff engagement

Employee volunteering scheme

Employee training and development on ethical trading

Community

NEWGEN: Sponsoring and monitoring young fashion talent

Working with local charities in the suppliers country (India and Bangladesh)

Source: Adapted from Arcadia, 2013

Arcadia Group acknowledge the Bangladesh fire disaster in November 2012 and

building collapse in April 2013, and signed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in

Bangladesh in September 2013. The main challenge for Arcadia Group claimed by

them is finding local and right expertise for verification and validation of paperwork.

As part of Accountable Garment Sector Challenge Fund (RAGS), Arcadia Group was

one of six initial retailers to part-fund the project, working on improving the garment

manufacturers management systems. This is lead by industry consultants with

specialist skills aiming to improve the garment manufacturers’ business practices and

the day-to-day lives of the factory workers. They are working in partnership with

factories in Bangladesh and India, the project aimed to show the business the benefits

of providing better jobs through (Arcadia, 2013):

Establishing a more stable and satisfied workforce

Enhancing workers’ pay

Avoiding excessive hours worked

Improving productivity and quality in the longer term

The fashion footprint programme of Arcadia group concentrated on its CSR activities

have higher weightage towards its products, employees and community, showing the

company’s policies are more inclined towards the social and stakeholder dimensions

25

of CSR with some degree of environmental. Arcadia group concentrated on

improving the quality of the factories with whom the suppliers work with an auditing

practice which is structured, well rounded and is independent, done by an appointed

recognised third party. They pay importance to the development of the factory

workers community in the countries their suppliers work in, especially Bangladesh

and India. They are tying to implement new processes and management through

knowledge transfer and supporting them financially and institutionally. The use of

secondary sources of leather and a no fur policy contributes towards the environment

function of CSR, where the right of the animal to some degree are protected.

Engagement of the stakeholder is another area, where Arcadia Group’s emphasis on

store employees’ training to encourage the user to recycle clothes and other products

and the values of the fashion footprint programme. On the social dimension, with the

Accountable Garment Sector Challenge Fund (RAGS) programme, the results were

positive in both Bangladesh and India, where the factory workers rights are getting

recognised and they are able to work in a better environment. Arcadia Group also

work with the local community within the UK by showcasing the work of young

talent and helping youth to get into the retail industry through its buyers,

merchandisers and designer apprentice scheme.

The Accountable Garment Sector Challenge Fund (RAGS)

Designed by the Department for International Development (DFID), the Responsible

and Accountable Garment Sector Challenge Fund (RAGS) was created to support

project aiming to improving conditions of vulnerable workers in the Ready-Made

Garment (RMG) production sector. From 2010 to 2013 RAGS supported twelve

projects in four countries, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Lesotho by providing

matching grants to organisations associated with labour conditions in the garment

sector in developing countries. Grantees included private businesses, trade unions and

members of both ethical and fair trade movements. Eleven projects were completed.

The impact of the programme is “responsible, ethical production is the norm in the

garment sector supplying the UK market”.

26

The outcome is “RAGS acts as a catalyst to better working conditions in garment

industries through the identification and development of scalable and replicable

interventions in key labour areas”.

The three programme outputs are:

Improved business case for ethical garment production

Improved awareness of decent work and labour rights amongst workers and

managers and better capacity to enforce them

Known barriers to suppliers and buyers scaling up ethical practices are

reduced

Source: Smith et al., 2014

The achievement of RAGS project in India and Bangladesh, the countries, which have

factories in relation to Arcadia Group, can be found as follows (Arcadia, 2013).

Bangladesh India

Improvement of factory efficiency

by 18%

Improved cut to ship ratio,

allowing factories to save £40,000

Reduction of workers absenteeism

by 34% in average, showing

improvement in the worker

motivation

Reduction of worker turnover

reduced by 52%, implying fewer

people leaving the job

Increase in average take home

pay, 8% increase in the pay

companied to beginning of the

programme (average of 491 taka

per month)

Improvement of factory efficiency

by 26%

Improved cut to ship ratio,

allowing factories to save £25,000

Reduction of worker turnover

reduced by 26%, implying fewer

people leaving the job

Increase in average take home

pay, 5% increase in the pay

companied to beginning of the

programme (average of 265

rupees per month)

Annual pay of £614,000 across all

the workers employed by

participating factories

Hourly pay increased by 8%.

27

Reduction of working hours of the

workers, with 43% fall in workers

working more the 60 hours per

week

Hourly pay increased by 12%

(targeted 5%)

Source: Adapted from Arcadia, 2013

The importance of factory workers’ welfare in the Global South, was highlighted by

the Rana Plaza disaster of 2013, the factory workers were inhumanely and worked in

a hazardous environment. This thesis is concentrated on the labour practice of Arcadia

Group. Since the disaster, they have concentrated heavily on the Code of Conducts

(CoC), which their suppliers need to follow, with detailed guidance on how to audit,

implement and manage systems and processes in the factories they worked with.

Arcadia has priorities for the labour in the factories, with whom the suppliers work

with.

Labour Priorities

Living wage

Arcadia supports the accepted definition of a living wage, that all the workers

in the supply chain including those working in subcontracted, informal, home

and migrant workers, should at least get wages sufficient to meet their basic

needs for food, clean water, shelter, transport etc, as well as discretionary

income. They follow campaign groups such as Behind the Label (LBL) and

the Asia Floor Wage Campaign who work in and around the four pillars of

collaboration; worker organising and freedom of association; purchasing

practices and developing a route map to a living wage and have influenced

brands like TOPSHOP and TOPMAN’s Joint Turkey Project to develop

around pillars (to develop and implement a strategic and holistic programme

that will improve factory productivity, workers’ conditions, working hours,

earnings and worker management dialogue).

28

Freedom of association

With a small percentage of the factories that the suppliers use and that are

known to have trade unions, it becomes difficult to ensure freedom of

association in a continuous process

Purchasing practices

A significant part in the area of how suppliers’ factories manage their people,

their production and their working is the intensification of training for all

appropriate staff, everyone ranging from design, buying and merchandising. A

training programme had started in the year 2011 with a hope that by the end of

2012 this would have been finalised, but this target could not be fulfilled due

to other projects. Nevertheless, new buying procedures and new policies such

as those relating to Bangladesh have been updated recently in the training.

Vulnerable workers

The vulnerable workers identified by Arcadia are i) Home workers, ii)

Migrant workers and iii) Contract workers.

o Home workers

Home workers have been rendered a vulnerable group due to their

invisibility and in combination with their complex employment status.

Implementation and use of the toolkit has, however, faced many

challenges. It is hoped that limiting the work to two suppliers, which in

turn makes it easier to manage and focus, can assess the benefits more

effectively.

o Migrant workers

Arcadia Group has been, in recent years, very actively working in the

area of improving the recruitment and working environment of migrant

workers, who travel from place to place in search of employment. In

this process they are exposed to number of unscrupulous agents who

tend to exploit them and render them vulnerable. It is for this reason

that the Migrant Workers Guidelines have been developed.

o Contract workers

29

Two other high street retailers are also associated with TOPSHOP and

TOPMAN’s work in the area of contract workers. It is felt that

whatever work has been carried out up to date has raised important

awareness of the priorities and the challenges contract workers have to

encounter.

Arcadia Group implements a management system for its suppliers, which need to be

followed by them. Arcadia developed the management systems which have been

stretched out to cover all areas of traditional and strategic human resources

management systems which involves:

1. The relation between a worker’s commitment and a successful business;

2. The steps required reaching these benefits;

3. The part played by the HR department; and

4. How to apply the examples and templates of practical tools that are available.

Forming the basis of all the areas are the following basic drivers of worker

engagement that should be developed by all organisations

1. Leadership that visibly transmits vision and values – this means being clear

about the ideas and principles and also to include workers in leadership’s

goals

2. Engaging managers, i.e. managers who help and give power to rather than be

in charge of and control their staff, managers with capabilities like

appreciation, respect and commitment to develop

3. Workers voices: an environment where workers can voice their views and

concerns

4. Behaviour that is reliable and steady with stated values leading to conviction

and honesty throughout the organisation

All brands under Arcadia, must submit a third party ethical audit, which should not be

older than one year in order for a new factory setup. The ethical audit process follows

the following steps (Arcadia (a), 2009).

Opening meeting with the management and the workers union, explaining the

auditing process

30

Document review regarding compliance with law, working hours, wages and

factory conditions

Tour of the whole factory facility

Interview of the employees, selected in random by the auditors, both

individually and in groups

Closing meeting where the findings are presented and a timescale is agreed on

how to address the failures.

Provide support on fulfilling the non-compliances and conduct follow up

audits according to timeline.

Depending on the audit, the result is classified into four categories

Green

The ‘Green’ rating indicates the factory is at low risk of violation of the Arcadia’s

code. The next audit will be conducted within one year. Violations, under this

category, are like consuming food on the production floor or workers unable to

understand the pay slips.

Yellow

The ‘Yellow’ rating indicates the factory is at medium risk of violation of the

Arcadia’s code. The next audit will be conducted within nine months. Violations,

under this category, are like uncovered electrical panel or emergency evacuation drills

are not conducted.

Orange

The ‘Orange’ rating indicates the factory is at high risk of violation of the Arcadia’s

code. The next follow up audit must be conducted within three months. Violations,

under this category, are like locked emergency exits or compulsory unpaid overtime.

Red

The ‘Red’ rating indicates the factory is critically violating the Arcadia’s code. The

factories will need to address these issues immediately and will be re-audited

immediately.

Source: Arcadia (a), 2009

31

Employment Standard Guideline

Employment Standard Guideline is a document produced by Arcadia group providing

guidance to the managers of the factories with whom they have relationship with.

This is a part of Arcadia’s Code of Conduct (CoC), employment standard guideline

providing specific practical guidance to the factories on how to implement new

process in order to improve their standards. This also helps the factories to produce

their own Code of Conduct to improve the working condition of the factory and its

employee with compliance with the local law.

The highlight of Arcadia’s ‘Code of Conduct Guidebook: Employment standard” can

broadly divided into the following.

Promoting Labour Compliance in the Factory

General Working Principles

Employee has freedom to choose employment

Employees have the Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective

Bargaining

Abstain from use of Child Labour

Payment of Living Wages

Limited Working Hours

No Discrimination

Security of Employment should be provided

Employees not treated in harsh or inhuman manner

Source: Arcadia (b), 2009

It can be demonstrated that Arcadia Group focuses a lot on the welfare of the factory

workers. Arcadia provides support and guidance to the suppliers on how to improve

the environment of the factory workers, but this in not a legal or contractual

obligation, as Arcadia Group does not have the jurisdiction and rights over the factory

workers as they have contracts with the suppliers and not with the factories directly.

32

Sourcing of raw material

Arcadia prohibits a number of activities, which includes policies to protect animal

welfare, the sandblasting technique, the use of Uzbek cotton and mulesing of sheep.

Sandblasting, banned in 2011 because of the potential health hazards faced by

workers if they breathe in the fine silica particles used, is a process by which denim is

given a worn out or a faded look. In 2008, Uzbek cotton was banned because there

were concerns regarding forced child labour in Uzbekistan during cotton harvesting

season. A sheep husbandry practice followed by the Australian wool industry to

remove skin from sheep (often without anaesthetic) in order to prevent fly strike

refers to as mulesing.

Environmental impact of products:

Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP)

The main aim of SCAP, is to improve the sustainability of clothing across its lifecycle

with a view to bring together the clothing industry, government and other

stakeholders to collectively take action to reduce the carbon, water and waste

footprint, along with providing support, tools and guidance. SCAP’s 2020

commitment will witness the measures taken to reduce the overall carbon, water and

waste footprints across all brands.

Through a seven point action plan, signatories are dedicated to playing their part in

reducing their UK carbon, water and waste footprint, which is as follows:

1. Usage of a common evaluation device to measure baseline position and track

changes in footprint on a time to time basis.

2. Through fibres and fabric selection decrease the environmental footprint of

clothing.

3. Work with supply chain partners over a long period, to reduce the

environmental footprint of their processes.

4. Through product design and services extend the useful life of clothes and

reduce the environmental impact of clothing in use by means of product

design and services.

5. Develop efficient messaging systems to influence consumer behaviours, which

in turn will reduce the environmental footprint of clothing.

6. To recover highest value from used clothing increase the concept of re-use and

33

recycling

7. Develop actions plans that help keep clothes out of the landfill.

Sustain

Created from fabric that would otherwise be treated, as waste is a range of up-cycled

clothing called Reclaim to wear continues to grow both in terms of scale and global

availability. With the introduction of the range in collaboration with From

Somewhere, the summer of 2013 saw the launch of a second collection as part of the

promotion of TOPSHOP’s new flagship store in Hong Kong. The second range which

has been produced in greater volumes, offers an increased selection of style, which is

nothing but a reflection of demand identified when last year’s collection sold out in a

matter of days. The range has entirely been produced in the UK and a great deal of the

material that was used was garnered from previous TOPSHOP Unique collections.

Due to high enthusiastic customer response, it has encouraged the further

development of the range and tap into the growing profile of up cycling. ‘Made in the

UK’ project goes from strength to strength, reflecting a wider trend of sourcing some

products closer to home.

Animal Welfare

As part of their factory set up it is mandatory for all suppliers to sign up to an animal

welfare declaration. Suppliers are automatically reminded of the animal welfare

policy when they are asked to supply goods made from animal sources through our

internet-based test report system. Further confirmations will be put in place by our

new ethical audit database (Valid8), which includes reinforcing our ban on wool from

producers that use mulesing as part of their animal husbandry techniques. According

to the existing policies, Arcadia, Group expects suppliers to stick to the following

sourcing standards

The source of leathers, skins and feathers must only be obtained as a by-

product and not be the exclusive reason of the slaughter of an animal;

Fully or partially, no products are to be sourced from endangered species lists

of the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) or

IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature);

Any products supplied to Arcadia Group should not use real fur or pelts

34

While an animal is alive leathers should not be obtained;

Arcadia Group branded cosmetics, and their ingredients, must not be tested on

animals and feathers should not be plucked from live animals

TOPSHOP paired up with animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical

Treatment of Animals) to launch a campaigning window in the Oxford Circus

flagship store, it provided a clear public reminder of our stand on the use of exotic

animal skins, which urged the customers to ‘Keep Wildlife out of your Wardrobe’ by

signing a PETA pledge, Its main objective in doing so was to reinforce the message

that exotic animal skins such as crocodile, python and lizard are often gathered using

painful and unethical methods.

Source: Adapted from Arcadia, 2013

Currently more than 50% of used clothes in UK go into landfill, and with the

‘Sustain’ programme, Arcadia Group’s brands are encouraging recycling of clothes,

as used garments can be reused to produce new clothes. As a member of Sustainable

Clothing Action Plan (SCAP), they are actively participating in making the fashion

industry a sustainable one. Arcadia Group has a strong stand when it comes to animal

welfare, and follows international standards regarding protecting of the animal rights.

Arcadia Group have well written communication material which is meant for the

suppliers to follow, when it comes for the suppliers use of factories, but there is no

transparent way to verify, what is actually happening on the ground. According to the

radio documentary, High St Fashion: Weaving New Thread, although there has been a

change on the safety standards and government regulation, the condition of the

workers have not improved in terms of harassment, abuse and threat, and there is a

visible discrepancy between what is on paper and what actually exists.

Arcadia Group has to some degree used ‘greenwash’ as a part of their communication

material, especially using words with double meaning. With reference to the sins of

greenwash, the Arcadia Group sustainability report has not provided sources of any

proof, which makes it difficult to verify. There is a degree of vagueness on the

35

achievement as to who has actual control over the factory workers and how the CoC

is actually applied on the grounds of the factories of the Global South.

Arcadia Group understands the need to reuse and is bringing in different programmes

and systems, which encourages consumers to recycle the clothes, allowing the fabric

to be reused. They invested in training store employees, who are in direct contact with

the consumers. The animal welfare policy of Arcadia is another way of contributing

towards environmental sustainability, by using secondary sources and not using

endangered species. As part of the SCAP, Arcadia is financing research on how to

reduce the carbon and water footprint. With SCAP, the aim is not just to find a

solution to reduce footprints, but also to work on changing the way supply chain

partners work, extend the product life of clothes and decrease environmental impacts

of clothes through innovative use of fabric and design (e.g. use of water resistant

fabric). SCAP also understand the involvement of consumers and change in consumer

behaviour is extremely necessary in order to increase the life cycle of garments. With

reference to Susan Bakers ladder of sustainability, Arcadia Group was at ‘pollution

control’, actively trying to reposition itself towards weak sustainable development.

Conclusion

Greenwashing is an eminent tool used within the fashion industry. The industry uses

the good CSR activity to cover any negative publicity or actions. An example will be

the Arcadia Group that has a well balanced sustainability programme encouraging

social and environmental protection, but at the same time, they fail to control the

consumerism and the fast fashion movement. Some critics of sustainable development

already argue that it is not possible to achieve sustainability within the fashion

industry due to the fast moving nature (Brones, 2014).

From SCAP and Arcadia Group’s ‘fashion footprint’ programme, it is visible that

sector bodies and brands are making a shift from pollution control towards weak

sustainable development. The industry know the negativity connected with the fast

moving fashion and its effect on the environment, especially in the production of the

fabric. There is prominent evidence that both SCAP and Arcadia Group are

concentrating on improving the sustainability from garment production stage to the

disposal of garment, often ignoring the production of the fabric.

36

Further discussion

Another alternative way through which sustainability within the fashion industry can

be achieved is through using the concept of ‘Fair Trade’, the model that currently

exists with the food industry.

Fair trade within Fashion Industry

If one asks what fair trade is, the answer will be that fair trade is nothing but an

opportunity for producers and suppliers to provide a fair price and fair working

conditions, through promoting equal trade agreements. In recent years, fair trade in

the food sector has experienced a considerable amount of growth. A demand for fairer

practices in the clothing sector has increased due to consumer concern surrounding

sweatshop clothing production. Even though many organisations have come up with

codes of conducts on production practices, there is an ever increasing demand from

many campaigners and consumers to improve them and ensure fairer practices.

Ethically concerned consumers find themselves confronted by uncertainty both in

terms of information available to help in decision-making and the consequences of

their actions (Tomolillo and Shaw, 2004).

Taking an example of buying a t-shirt, the criteria on which the consumer will make

the choice may include the ‘people issue’ of whether the t-shirt is made is fairly

traded one or one made under sweatshop conditions. Therefore, the country of origin

and working conditions are important factors that a consumer may consider before

purchasing and may even choose to purchase a garment produced in their home

country to highlight these concerns. This may give rise to conflicts, between a

concern to trade fairly with the Global South and desire to support home-country

production. In such cases the purchase of a t-shirt, which traditionally is a low

involvement product, will require the consumer to make more effort in decision

making. A ‘words/deeds inconsistency’ has been reported in terms of a weak

relationship between what consumers say, and what they do (Shaw et al, 2006)

37

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41

Appendices

FASHIONING A BRIGHTER FUTURE

SUMMARY REPORT2013

Fashion Footprint is Arcadia Group’s programme to monitor and

manage the social and environmental impacts of our business. This summary document provides an overview of our achievements in the 12 months up to August 2013. A full version is

available for download at www.arcadiagroup.co.uk/

fashionfootprint

As ever, we are keen to hear what you have to say about this

report and any activities within our Fashion Footprint programme. You can share your views by emailing them to hellofashionfootprint@

arcadiagroup.co.uk

Fashion Footprint is important to our employees

who provide valuable insights to shape our activities.

Arcadia has a long-held tradition of support for a wide range of communities. We give back at group level,

via our brands and through the individual efforts of our

employees.

Our emplOyees Our cOmmunities

This pillar focuses on understanding and reducing

the impacts that manufacturing our products may have on

people and planet.

A key part of being a responsible retailer is to

minimise environmental impacts in the areas of energy, waste and transport.

Our prOducts Our envirOnment

We continue to pursue improvements of working conditions at our suppliers’

factories.

tragically, this year has involved solemn reminders of the need to keep our responsibilities at the forefront of our priorities. We were deeply saddened by the events suffered by garment workers in Bangladesh, first with the fire in november 2012 and then by the building collapse in April 2013.

We signed the Accord on Fire and Building safety in Bangladesh, which will work towards improving worker safety, and take this commitment very seriously.

Our ApprOAch tO prOducts invOlves:

- ethical trading, including reviewing independent audits of working conditions in the factories that suppliers use to make our goods.

- reducing the environmental impacts of these factories, such as waste.

- Animal welfare: implementing our policy to respect animals and protect endangered species.

RAGS is one of our major ethical trading projects focusing on Benefits for Business and Workers in india and Bangladesh.

We’ve signed up to a major new initiative, that aims to improve the fashion industry’s environmental footprint.

ResponsibleAccountableGarmentSector

SustainableClothingActionPlan

reclaim to Wear, tOpshOp’s range of up-cycled clothing continues to grow, both in terms of scale and worldwide availability.

Our approach to the environment focuses on:

• energy• waste • transport

Whether it is down to small-scale change, such as switching to energy-efficient lamps in stores, through to sourcing over 90% of the energy we use in our stores, head offices and distribution centres from renewables, we are always seeking ways to reduce our environmental impact.

the movement of our products is an area that has seen transformative plans put in place this year. Wherever possible, we seek to minimise the impacts of transporting products.

this yeAr We reduced Our trAnspOrt cO2 emissiOns By 5.4%.

this is the sixth year in a row that we have achieved such reductions. We anticipate that all of our store delivery fleet will be replaced by early 2014 to be fully ‘euro 5’ eco-emissions compliant.

As one of the largest employers within fashion retail, we want to work on causes that benefit those within the industry.

We continue to support young fashion talent. this is a dual strategy, working on education in partnership with the Fashion Retail Academy and sponsoring rising stars via the London Fashion Week’s NEWGEN programme.

Our brands continue to add value to the relationships they have formed with partner charities

and have raised £1.5m between them this year.

harmony house was named as our new Fashion Footprint charity this year. the charity works to provide shelter, education and healthcare for the families of those who work in the garment industry in an area of delhi, india.

Our employees donate via our workplace giving scheme and total donations this year were £164,000.

Fashion retail Academy graduation 2013

harmony house

last year’s widening of the Fashion Footprint programme to embrace our store-based colleagues has proven to be a springboard for further activity.

We are planning a Fashion Footprint Focus Week where we will revisit the pledges made to date and encourage stores to overachieve their targets. each store team will be given an opportunity to communicate their own messages to be shared with colleagues.

We have taken a number of steps this year to reinforce the two-way benefits of

employee engagement.

We have adopted ideas that have been driven out of the extension of Fashion Footprint to our retail community. We have completed an employee volunteering pilot and put in place steps to take that forward. We continue to value the feedback from our Fashion Footprint Advisory Panel.

employee volunteering

recent graduate joiners

We reviewed

2,938 factory ethical audits for the

Arcadia Group.

£1.5m is the total

amount we raised for charity this

year.

For the 5th consecutive year we have managed to reduce our absolute

CO2 emissions, bringing our total CO2 saving since 2008 to over

24,000 tonnes.

the full version of our report including next steps is available to

download at www.arcadiagroup.

co.uk/fashionfootprint

This report is printed on 100% recycled paperCBP00010510911111542

SuStainable Clothing Roadmap

Progress rePort 2011

C M

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Non-print 1

Non-print 2

JOB LOCATION:

PRINERGY 3

Non-printingColours

DEF-PB13461-Clothing.indd 1 10/03/2011 16:46

1 introduction

3 the roadmap Process4 stage 1: review evidence7 stage 2: engage stakeholders8 stage 3: Action Planning and implementation

15 Conclusions16 stage 4: evaluation

introDUCtion inDeXthe sustainable Clothing roadmap launched in 2007, with the aim of improving the sustainability of clothing across its lifecycle, from the crops that are grown to make the fabrics, to the design and manufacture of the garment, retail, use and end of life.

An ambitious aim, but one which is necessary because clothing, whilst an economic success story globally worth £500 billion, has a significant environmental and social footprint across its supply chain. this is exacerbated by high consumption levels, especially in the developed world. led by Defra, and working closely with sector experts, the roadmap is based on the co-ordinated action of key clothing and fashion stakeholders – the people best placed to make effective improvements throughout their operations. From April this year, Defra’s delivery body, the Waste and resources Action Programme (WrAP), will formally take over the running of the roadmap.

environmental impacts across the lifecycleexample: cotton

DEF-PB13461-Clothing.indd 2 10/03/2011 16:46

INTRODUCTION

The Sustainable Clothing Roadmap launched in 2007, with the aim of improving the sustainability of clothing across its lifecycle, from the crops that are grown to make the fabrics, to the design and manufacture of the garment, retail, use and end of life.

An ambitious aim, but one which is necessary because clothing, whilst an economic success story globally worth £500 billion, has a significant environmental and social footprint across its supply chain. This is exacerbated by high consumption levels, especially in the developed world. Led by Defra, and working closely with sector experts, the roadmap is based on the co-ordinated action of key clothing and fashion stakeholders – the people best placed to make effective improvements throughout their operations. From April this year, Defra’s delivery body, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), will formally take over the running of the roadmap.

The UN definition of the term ‘sustainability’ refers to ‘development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’. Relating the concept of sustainability to clothing means that ideally this would be clothing which meets the needs of today’s consumers, and is also made, transported, sold, used and disposed of in ways which do not adversely impact people or the planet – now or at any time in the future. In practice, achieving this is not straightforward. It involves trade-offs between different impacts and working out how to prioritise improvements.

The environmental impacts involved in the manufacture of clothing vary significantly. For example, cotton growth involves significant water use, toxicity from fertiliser, pesticide and herbicide use, whereas production of synthetic fibres involves the generation of GHG emissions from the processing of fossil fuels. For all fibres the dyeing and finishing processes can involve heavy water use resulting in hazardous waste from pre-treatment chemicals. In the use phase, the energy consumed in laundering during the water heating and air heating in the tumble drying also have significant environmental impacts.

Sustainable Clothing Roadmap Progress Report 2011 | 01

Environmental impacts across the lifecycleExample: cotton

DEF-PB13461-Clothing.indd 1 11/03/2011 09:13

When the roadmap was set up, it was understood that there is no simple straightforward answer on how to tackle these issues and that government alone could not provide a solution. instead, the concept of the roadmap process is about bringing together relevant sector expertise to understand the full picture and develop co-ordinated action.

in the UK, around two million tonnes of clothing are purchased per annum, with the fast/discount fashion sector (characterised by low cost, short lifetime garments) making up one-fifth of the UK market. We discard approximately one million tonnes of unwanted clothing a year – 50% of which ends up in landfill. As 90% of UK clothing is imported, our activities have a significant overseas “footprint”, particularly in india, China and other developing countries.

We are all part of the problem and, more encouragingly, can be part of the solution. only now are we beginning to learn just how interconnected we are; that small actions in one part of the world can have big consequences in others.

the sustainable Clothing roadmap has a wide remit in order to ensure that the relevant data is gathered and that the concept of sustainable clothing is understood in its fullest sense. As the roadmap develops, it is tightening its focus and working to agree actions to tackle a series of more defined ‘hot spots’ within the clothing lifecycle. the two current task groups are

focusing on reuse and recycling and on clothes cleaning, and we plan to move on to tackle other ‘hot spot’ areas.

this progress report outlines what has been achieved since 2007 in terms of our understanding of the concept of sustainable clothing, through evidence gathering and stakeholder engagement. A number of the actions which form part of the roadmap’s ‘action plan’ have been included with the aim of demonstrating some of our achievements and sharing best practice.

if you would like more information on how to get involved in the sustainable Clothing roadmap please email products.policy@defra.gov.uk or take a look at our website www.defra.co.uk and search ‘sustainable clothing roadmap’.

“in the UK, around two million tonnes of clothing are purchased per annum...”

02 | sustainable Clothing roadmap Progress report 2011

the roADMAP ProCess

DEF-PB13461-Clothing.indd 2 10/03/2011 16:46

focusing on reuse and recycling and on clothes cleaning, and we plan to move on to tackle other ‘hot spot’ areas.

this progress report outlines what has been achieved since 2007 in terms of our understanding of the concept of sustainable clothing, through evidence gathering and stakeholder engagement. A number of the actions which form part of the roadmap’s ‘action plan’ have been included with the aim of demonstrating some of our achievements and sharing best practice.

if you would like more information on how to get involved in the sustainable Clothing roadmap please email products.policy@defra.gov.uk or take a look at our website www.defra.co.uk and search ‘sustainable clothing roadmap’.

“in the UK, around two million tonnes of clothing are purchased per annum...”

sustainable Clothing roadmap Progress report 2011 | 03

the roADMAP ProCess

DEF-PB13461-Clothing.indd 3 10/03/2011 16:46

04 | sustainable Clothing roadmap Progress report 2011

“the textile industry is one of the industries with the longest and most complicated industrial chains of the manufacturing industry. it involves actors from the agricultural, chemical fibre, textile, and apparel industries, retail and services sector, and waste treatment. the industry is fragmented and heterogeneous, dominated by small and medium enterprises (Smes) which account for more than 80% of the market.”*

the sustainable Clothing roadmap is an attempt to improve the environmental and social performance of clothing consumed in the UK, building on existing initiatives and by coordinating action by key clothing supply chain stakeholders. it is one of ten pilot roadmaps that were set up by Defra in 2007 (examples of other roadmaps are fish, milk, windows and televisions). Product roadmapping is a collaborative process for understanding and tackling the environmental impacts of a product, throughout the various stages in its lifecycle – from raw materials through to production, retail and distribution, use and end of life. the roadmapping process has four stages:

review evidence: the first stage is to look at the impacts of product across its lifecycle and the action that is already being taken, put the two together and highlight any gaps.

engage stakeholders: We then put together a group of stakeholders from across the product lifecycle – manufacturers, retailers, users and waste managers.

Action plan: We work with stakeholders todevelop an action plan – including actions by government and industry at all stages of the supply chain – to address the gaps highlighted by the evidence study.

implement and evaluate: Finally, we implementthe action plan to improve the sustainability of the product. We then monitor and evaluate what it delivers, and what we have learnt about the road-mapping process.

this report is an overview of what has been achieved in these four stages so far – detailing the evidence gathered and drawing out some of the actions being undertaken by stakeholders. the Clothing roadmap is now at the implementation and evaluation stage, having produced the first action plan in 2009, and an update in 2010. the roadmap continues to develop as new members join the process and the task groups work to develop future actions.

stAge 1: review evidence

Defra and other organisations have commissioned a number of evidence projects to help inform all roadmap members and the wider clothing sector, and identify potential actions. Most of this evidence work started early on in the roadmap process, some are ongoing. For ease of reference, the studies have been grouped together in the section below, the majority of them are also actions within the roadmap’s Action Plan.

the evidence studies are detailed in lifecycle order below.

Mapping of evidence of sustainable development impacts that occur in life cycles of clothing (2007)

As Defra’s first research under the sustainable Clothing roadmap, this evidence study undertook a review of existing literature on the life cycle of clothing. the review determined the overall social and environmental impact of the clothing life cycle along with any existing interventions and made further recommendations for improving the overall sustainability of clothing. the research assessed the robustness, uncertainties and identified gaps in the evidence of impacts. it made recommendations on further research required on life cycle impacts of clothing. Finally, it assessed the effectiveness of existing interventions to improve the sustainability performance of clothing and made recommendations on where UK interventions could make a significant improvement.

the roADMAP ProCess

ninety per cent of clothing consumed in the UK is imported. encouraging environmental and ethical improvements across the international clothing supply chains feeding the UK is essential to improve the sustainability of the clothing we wear in the UK. As india, after China, is the second largest manufacturer of clothing imported into the country, Defra has funded two clothing demonstration projects under the department’s sustainable Development Dialogues Process, which tie in with the work of the Foreign and Commonwealth office and the Department for international Development. the Dialogues were established as a means to accelerate delivery of commitments made at the World summit on sustainable Development, and to help achieve the Millennium Development goals.

sustainable Design: Promoting sustainable indian textiles (2010)

the shared talent india project, led by the Centre for sustainable Fashion, explored and shared knowledge on sustainable design practice. in india, the industry is a large net foreign exchange earner and a major employment provider. From poverty wages to water and pesticide use in cotton farming, there are a wide range of challenging sustainability issues related to the country’s industry. however, there are also growing numbers of suppliers developing better practices. this project, involving designers, suppliers of indian textiles, buyers and undergraduates from the london College of Fashion, Pearl Academy of Fashion Delhi and the Amsterdam Fashion institute aimed to build capacity and explore market opportunities for using more sustainable indian textiles. the project developed an online sourcing toolkit and textile catalogue to help UK-based fashion businesses develop productive relationships with indian suppliers and successfully source sustainable textiles.

For more information visit: www.sharedtalentindia.com

*environmental improvement Potentials of textiles, european Commission report – report pending publication from the european Commission Joint research Centre, institute for Prospective technological studies.

DEF-PB13461-Clothing.indd 4 10/03/2011 16:46

sustainable Clothing roadmap Progress report 2011 | 05

this report is an overview of what has been achieved in these four stages so far – detailing the evidence gathered and drawing out some of the actions being undertaken by stakeholders. the Clothing roadmap is now at the implementation and evaluation stage, having produced the first action plan in 2009, and an update in 2010. the roadmap continues to develop as new members join the process and the task groups work to develop future actions.

stAge 1: review evidence

Defra and other organisations have commissioned a number of evidence projects to help inform all roadmap members and the wider clothing sector, and identify potential actions. Most of this evidence work started early on in the roadmap process, some are ongoing. For ease of reference, the studies have been grouped together in the section below, the majority of them are also actions within the roadmap’s Action Plan.

the evidence studies are detailed in lifecycle order below.

Mapping of evidence of sustainable development impacts that occur in life cycles of clothing (2007)

As Defra’s first research under the sustainable Clothing roadmap, this evidence study undertook a review of existing literature on the life cycle of clothing. the review determined the overall social and environmental impact of the clothing life cycle along with any existing interventions and made further recommendations for improving the overall sustainability of clothing. the research assessed the robustness, uncertainties and identified gaps in the evidence of impacts. it made recommendations on further research required on life cycle impacts of clothing. Finally, it assessed the effectiveness of existing interventions to improve the sustainability performance of clothing and made recommendations on where UK interventions could make a significant improvement.

ninety per cent of clothing consumed in the UK is imported. encouraging environmental and ethical improvements across the international clothing supply chains feeding the UK is essential to improve the sustainability of the clothing we wear in the UK. As india, after China, is the second largest manufacturer of clothing imported into the country, Defra has funded two clothing demonstration projects under the department’s sustainable Development Dialogues Process, which tie in with the work of the Foreign and Commonwealth office and the Department for international Development. the Dialogues were established as a means to accelerate delivery of commitments made at the World summit on sustainable Development, and to help achieve the Millennium Development goals.

sustainable Design: Promoting sustainable indian textiles (2010)

the shared talent india project, led by the Centre for sustainable Fashion, explored and shared knowledge on sustainable design practice. in india, the industry is a large net foreign exchange earner and a major employment provider. From poverty wages to water and pesticide use in cotton farming, there are a wide range of challenging sustainability issues related to the country’s industry. however, there are also growing numbers of suppliers developing better practices. this project, involving designers, suppliers of indian textiles, buyers and undergraduates from the london College of Fashion, Pearl Academy of Fashion Delhi and the Amsterdam Fashion institute aimed to build capacity and explore market opportunities for using more sustainable indian textiles. the project developed an online sourcing toolkit and textile catalogue to help UK-based fashion businesses develop productive relationships with indian suppliers and successfully source sustainable textiles.

For more information visit: www.sharedtalentindia.com

sustainable Manufacture: eco-efficiency of indian Dyehouses (2010)

this project focused on demonstrating the environmental and business case for eco-efficiency in indian dyehouses that supply the UK clothing market. Dyeing is recognised as being a high impact process that consumes large quantities of water, energy and chemicals, and the dyeing industry is known to be one of the major global polluters. the project selected three dyehouses of differing abilities to work with in order to reduce the amount of water, energy and chemicals used to dye their products. Motivating dyehouse staff to improve processes and data gathering were challenges, but a key finding was that it is possible to significantly reduce costs and environmental impacts by simple, low cost actions. in order to maximise progress though, some capital investment is necessary. three best practice seminars were held in india to share the findings with the wider dyeing industry.

DEF-PB13461-Clothing.indd 5 10/03/2011 16:46

06 | sustainable Clothing roadmap Progress report 2011

sustainable Manufacture: the role and Business Case for existing and emerging Fibres in sustainable Clothing (2010)

the aim of this evidence project was to evaluate the environmental and social impacts of existing and emerging clothing fibres and their market potential into the future. this was done to determine the business case for clothing fibres and fabrics from a sustainability perspective. the intent was to provide industry with clarity on the environmental and social impacts of fibres/fabrics to enable increased use of those with sound sustainability credentials and economic viability. A number of key data gaps and inconsistencies in reporting of the environmental and social impacts of fibres emerged during the project which prevented an accurate comparison of different fibre types.

thus the indicative ranking of fibres by environmental impact presented in the study must be treated with caution, as at best it only represents a high level indication. the study highlights a number of evidence gaps requiring further research for more accurate findings.

Use: reducing the environmental impact of Clothes Cleaning (2009)

Defra commissioned this project because existing evidence shows that the impacts of the clothes cleaning stage of the clothing lifecycle has high environmental impacts and that there is further potential for improvement beyond existing interventions. the project aim was to identify and analyse the options to reduce the energy, water and chemicals intensity of clothes cleaning. information on current cleaning methods was collected and the environmental impacts of these methods (including potential trade-offs) assessed. six aspects of clothes cleaning were considered:

Fibre and fabric characteristics e.g. anti crease or anti bacterial coatings

Washing and drying appliances

low/non-solvent dry cleaning

Detergents and their packaging

sustainable building design

Final assembly of garments and durability

the evidence confirmed that the environmental impacts of clothes cleaning are significant with energy consumption and associated ghg emissions from the heating of water (washer) and air (dryer) often quoted as approximately 80% of the use phase energy impacts. eutrophication and other toxicity impacts due to washing detergents are the other significant impacts. taking into account consumer behaviour and societal trends, the project found that the best options to reduce the impacts of clothes cleaning would be through awareness campaigns and regulatory/legislative interventions. Defra set up a Clothes Cleaning task group to come up with joint actions in this area (see page 10).

Use: Public Understanding of sustainable Clothing (2008)

this research sets out people’s current understanding of sustainable clothing and explores their response to behaviours that may mitigate impacts of their clothes buying, maintenance and disposal. Using focus group methods and follow up sessions, the research explored: people’s aspirations in relation to clothing – what would they like to buy and wear, and what might nudge their aspirations towards a more sustainable picture; assumptions of ‘good clothing’; understanding of sustainable clothing; and expectations of government and industry. in order to raise awareness of the sustainability impacts of clothing among the general public, the research advised a number of strategies. these included the provision of better labelling on the source of products, exploring options to increase recovery of clothing through ‘take back’ schemes, and building on the ‘wash at 30°C’ campaign.

end of life: Maximising reuse and recycling of UK Clothing and textiles (2009)

this project reported comprehensive and robust data on the quality and quantity of post consumer clothing and textile waste in the UK. it presented and evaluated strategies for increasing reuse and recycling in order to divert them from landfill. this included a detailed assessment of the barriers and opportunities to maximise reuse and recycling, the technical and economic feasibility of different options, the infrastructure requirements, and examples of best practice from overseas. A pilot scale trial to test textile waste suitability for reuse/recycling was conducted for a representative sample of households in Birmingham. the study recommends key interventions in order to optimise technologies and develop markets for clothing and textiles items and their constituent materials, thus diverting more from landfill.

DEF-PB13461-Clothing.indd 6 10/03/2011 16:46

sustainable Clothing roadmap Progress report 2011 | 07

thus the indicative ranking of fibres by environmental impact presented in the study must be treated with caution, as at best it only represents a high level indication. the study highlights a number of evidence gaps requiring further research for more accurate findings.

Use: reducing the environmental impact of Clothes Cleaning (2009)

Defra commissioned this project because existing evidence shows that the impacts of the clothes cleaning stage of the clothing lifecycle has high environmental impacts and that there is further potential for improvement beyond existing interventions. the project aim was to identify and analyse the options to reduce the energy, water and chemicals intensity of clothes cleaning. information on current cleaning methods was collected and the environmental impacts of these methods (including potential trade-offs) assessed. six aspects of clothes cleaning were considered:

Fibre and fabric characteristics e.g. anti crease or anti bacterial coatings

Washing and drying appliances

low/non-solvent dry cleaning

Detergents and their packaging

sustainable building design

Final assembly of garments and durability

the evidence confirmed that the environmental impacts of clothes cleaning are significant with energy consumption and associated ghg emissions from the heating of water (washer) and air (dryer) often quoted as approximately 80% of the use phase energy impacts. eutrophication and other toxicity impacts due to washing detergents are the other significant impacts. taking into account consumer behaviour and societal trends, the project found that the best options to reduce the impacts of clothes cleaning would be through awareness campaigns and regulatory/legislative interventions. Defra set up a Clothes Cleaning task group to come up with joint actions in this area (see page 10).

Use: Public Understanding of sustainable Clothing (2008)

this research sets out people’s current understanding of sustainable clothing and explores their response to behaviours that may mitigate impacts of their clothes buying, maintenance and disposal. Using focus group methods and follow up sessions, the research explored: people’s aspirations in relation to clothing – what would they like to buy and wear, and what might nudge their aspirations towards a more sustainable picture; assumptions of ‘good clothing’; understanding of sustainable clothing; and expectations of government and industry. in order to raise awareness of the sustainability impacts of clothing among the general public, the research advised a number of strategies. these included the provision of better labelling on the source of products, exploring options to increase recovery of clothing through ‘take back’ schemes, and building on the ‘wash at 30°C’ campaign.

end of life: Maximising reuse and recycling of UK Clothing and textiles (2009)

this project reported comprehensive and robust data on the quality and quantity of post consumer clothing and textile waste in the UK. it presented and evaluated strategies for increasing reuse and recycling in order to divert them from landfill. this included a detailed assessment of the barriers and opportunities to maximise reuse and recycling, the technical and economic feasibility of different options, the infrastructure requirements, and examples of best practice from overseas. A pilot scale trial to test textile waste suitability for reuse/recycling was conducted for a representative sample of households in Birmingham. the study recommends key interventions in order to optimise technologies and develop markets for clothing and textiles items and their constituent materials, thus diverting more from landfill.

stAge 2: engage stakeholders

Although theoretically, this is the second stage of the roadmap, stakeholders were engaged right from the start of the process. those who expressed interest in undertaking commitments were invited to participate on the steering groups for the evidence projects mentioned above.

nearly 300 stakeholder organisations along the supply chain of UK consumed clothing have participated in the roadmap to date, including clothing retailers, fibre/fabric/garment manufacturers, suppliers, clothing reuse and recycling organisations, charities, industry associations, government, ngos, practitioners, academia and support organisations.

of those 300, around 40 have committed to take action. they are a diverse group – including large and small organisations, businesses, government and civil society, mainstream brands and sustainability specialists.

Different organisations face different challenges, and are at different stages of their journey towards sustainability. the actions detailed overleaf illustrate this. some organisations are just entering this arena, whilst others have been working on it for a significant time.

DEF-PB13461-Clothing.indd 7 10/03/2011 16:46

08 | sustainable Clothing roadmap Progress report 2011

stAge 3: Action Planning and implementation

Based on the evidence obtained, the roadmap participants agreed on five key action areas:

1) improving environmental performance across the supply chain

2) Consumption trends and behaviour

3) Awareness, media, education and networks

4) Creating market drivers

5) traceability across the supply chain (ethics, trade and environment)

the Action Plans of 2009 and 2010 were grouped under these headings.

A steering group monitors progress in delivering actions, and at the end of the task, a case study demonstrating evidence of achievement is required.

ranging from reducing garment packaging, to developing a clothing take back process, to raising awareness of sustainable clothing, the actions cover a wide spectrum of activity. As different stakeholders are at different stages of their journey towards sustainability, some actions are first steps, some demonstrate best practice, and some involve the development of cutting edge technology.

this next section of the report outlines some of these activities in the five key action areas outlined above. symbols have been added as a guide, showing what types of actions stakeholders at different stages can adopt and develop.

Quick Wins:

good Practice:

trailblazers:

action area 1: improving environmental performance across the supply chain

this area covers a range of activities such as sustainable design, fibres and fabrics and maximising reuse, recycling and end of life management. the majority of members’ actions fall within this action area.

the new actions which have been added in this area since the previous action plan are:

the better Cotton initiative’s action to engage retailers representing 15% of cotton grown globally in their Better Cotton system through BCi membership by 2012.

John lewis has committed to remove polystyrene from the inside of their packaging from 2012 and to roll out product labelling on John lewis garments with a save energy message – 30°c wash and line dry recommendation.

design tools

Nike developed the Considered Apparel index to score the environmental attributes of its apparel in 2007. the index is used by designers early in the product creation process to help inform design and development decisions to reduce the environmental impacts related to materials, manufacturing waste, and garment treatments. in late 2010, nike launched the environmental Apparel Design tool (eADt), which is a web-based version of the index. it was developed primarily to enable other companies to understand nike’s approach to scoring apparel products and to provide a working tool to score their products. the eADt was tested and well received by a number of retailers and brands. the related Materials Analysis tool (MAt) drives 60% of a garment’s score in nike’s Considered Apparel index. MAt uses materials impact data related to four key environmental impact areas – energy/Co2-eq, water /land use intensity, chemistry, and waste – to assess approximately 60 footwear and apparel materials on a relative scale of 1 to 100. the apparel materials portion of MAt was also released in late 2010 with the eADt.

the Clothes exchange

the Oxfam and M&S Clothes exchange was launchedin 2008 and encourages people to donate their unwanted clothes. the exchange is designed to raise money for oxfam’s work and to reduce the one million tonnes of clothing sent to landfill each year. Anyone donating an item of M&s clothing to oxfam receives a £5 voucher to use on their next purchase of £35 or more in store. revenues generated from the sale of donated garments provide funding for oxfam’s work on poverty around the world. since the launch, more than three million garments have been diverted from landfill into reuse and an extra £3 million has been raised for oxfam. the scheme has recently been extended to cover soft furnishings.

uniform Reuse trial

this trial, carried out by the Centre for Reuse and Remanufacture and completed in 2009, set out to find ways of improving the reuse and recycling options for corporate wear through practical research and the development of an educational resource. recovery of corporate wear in the UK currently operates on a relatively small scale, at less than 5%. the main barriers to reuse and recycling include heterogeneous fibre composition, construction and garment designs which inhibit disassembly. Corporate clothing reuse is often hindered by security and corporate image issues due to logos being difficult and costly to remove. As such, corporate wear from high level security sectors (such as transport and public services) is often security-shredded and disposed of to landfill. An online resource to educate industry and raise awareness of the opportunities available can be found at: www.uniformreuse.co.uk.

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sustainable Clothing roadmap Progress report 2011 | 09

action area 1: improving environmental performance across the supply chain

this area covers a range of activities such as sustainable design, fibres and fabrics and maximising reuse, recycling and end of life management. the majority of members’ actions fall within this action area.

the new actions which have been added in this area since the previous action plan are:

the better Cotton initiative’s action to engage retailers representing 15% of cotton grown globally in their Better Cotton system through BCi membership by 2012.

John lewis has committed to remove polystyrene from the inside of their packaging from 2012 and to roll out product labelling on John lewis garments with a save energy message – 30°c wash and line dry recommendation.

Nike developed the Considered Apparel index to score the environmental attributes of its apparel in 2007. the index is used by designers early in the product creation process to help inform design and development decisions to reduce the environmental impacts related to materials, manufacturing waste, and garment treatments. in late 2010, nike launched the environmental Apparel Design tool (eADt), which is a web-based version of the index. it was developed primarily to enable other companies to understand nike’s approach to scoring apparel products and to provide a working tool to score their products. the eADt was tested and well received by a number of retailers and brands. the related Materials Analysis tool (MAt) drives 60% of a garment’s score in nike’s Considered Apparel index. MAt uses materials impact data related to four key environmental impact areas – energy/Co2-eq, water /land use intensity, chemistry, and waste – to assess approximately 60 footwear and apparel materials on a relative scale of 1 to 100. the apparel materials portion of MAt was also released in late 2010 with the eADt.

Case Study: Royal Mail GroupKey Facts:– RMG employs 1% of the UK working population

– RMG sends less than 1% of corporate uniform to landfill

one of rMg’s Csr targets is a focus on ethical sourcing and waste disposal of corporate wear. the organisation has a wide range of garments for employees, including casual wear, tailored career wear, high performance wear, footwear and associated products. there are between 150,000 and 170,000 compulsory uniform employees within the royal Mail group and they need to cater for a wide range of sizes. When the employee has finished with a garment, it is sorted initially for de-branding, which involves cutting the label off the garment. this can damage the garment and render it unusable, in which case the garments may be entered into recycling systems (and remanufacturing process – depending on the fibre content) or landfill if non-biodegradable. All remaining products are then sent for processing, mainly for use in seat mouldings for the automotive industry. When asked what they would recommend to other companies with similar aims, royal Mail’s principal response was “traceability” – most companies understand that it is vital that the full supply chain can be effectively monitored, yet they often fail to consider the inclusion of end-of-life management. they also recommend considering sustainability issues at the design stage. this can include minimising waste in cuts, using sustainable and ethically sourced fabrics, and considering what options exist for end-of-life management.

the Clothes exchange

the Oxfam and M&S Clothes exchange was launchedin 2008 and encourages people to donate their unwanted clothes. the exchange is designed to raise money for oxfam’s work and to reduce the one million tonnes of clothing sent to landfill each year. Anyone donating an item of M&s clothing to oxfam receives a £5 voucher to use on their next purchase of £35 or more in store. revenues generated from the sale of donated garments provide funding for oxfam’s work on poverty around the world. since the launch, more than three million garments have been diverted from landfill into reuse and an extra £3 million has been raised for oxfam. the scheme has recently been extended to cover soft furnishings.

uniform Reuse trial

this trial, carried out by the Centre for Reuse and Remanufacture and completed in 2009, set out to find ways of improving the reuse and recycling options for corporate wear through practical research and the development of an educational resource. recovery of corporate wear in the UK currently operates on a relatively small scale, at less than 5%. the main barriers to reuse and recycling include heterogeneous fibre composition, construction and garment designs which inhibit disassembly. Corporate clothing reuse is often hindered by security and corporate image issues due to logos being difficult and costly to remove. As such, corporate wear from high level security sectors (such as transport and public services) is often security-shredded and disposed of to landfill. An online resource to educate industry and raise awareness of the opportunities available can be found at: www.uniformreuse.co.uk.

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action on packaging

A number of the sustainable clothing roadmap members have committed to take action on reducing the packaging involved with their garments. George at Asda has made both financial and environmental savings by restricting the use of garment shrouds to light and delicate items, it has also changed the way garments are hung during the transportation process. in the past year, Marks and Spencer has increased the number of clothing hangers collected for re-use or recycling to 133 million, with 76% being re-used and the remainder recycled. Sainsbury’s has committed to reducing clothing packaging by 33% by 2013 and Tesco aims to increase the amount of their packaging made from sustainable raw materials with the target of having all paper and board from 100% FsC or similar sustainably managed sources by 2012.

Also under this action area, two task groups have been created to develop and agree further collaborative actions.

Clothes Cleaning task group

the group formed in July 2010 and has focused on the key issues identified by the evidence study ‘reducing the environmental impact of clothes cleaning’ namely;

wash at 30°

line drying

wash at full load

spin speed

dosage

the task group on clothes cleaning is made up of representatives from across the value chain, including manufacturers, retailers and government. Discussions within the group have led to the conclusion that the two areas where collaborative action by industry could have the most influence on reducing the environmental impact of clothes cleaning were line-drying and wash at 30°.

the next step for the group is developing collaborative action to further the take up of washing at 30°. george at Asda, sainsbury’s, Marks and spencer and tesco have all taken action to put this message on their clothes labelling. Although great strides have been made, for example 21% of consumers now wash at 30° compared with 2% in 2002, the group is committed to improving these figures further. A key challenge ahead lays in the successful communication of the wash at 30° message – so that it becomes normal behaviour.

reuse and recycling task group

this group formed in september 2010, in response to the evidence developed on UK clothing reuse and recycling. the primary objective is to develop collective actions to which a number of organisations can contribute as these are likely to have a greater national impact than individual actions. it aims to achieve this by:

improving collection and separation of reusable and recyclable clothing;

undertaking market development activities, including understanding market operation, developing good practice and techniques; and

liaising with other industry member and interest groups to promote collections and uptake of reused and recycled clothing.

the group includes manufacturers, retailers, brands, collectors, recyclers and government representatives. Work focuses on clothing and excludes carpets. the group will also address the balance of quality of collected clothing with the volume collected and is aware that increasing collections will result in a greater amount of clothing suitable only for recycling. it will be important, therefore, to develop separation techniques and outlets markets for recycled products. the group will also cover the development of markets for different grades of recyclate.

action area 2: Consumption trends and behaviour

Action under this area relates mainly to Defra-led research on public understanding of sustainable clothing and raising consumer awareness of the issues involved.

Defra has also been developing webpages on the environment section of the Direct gov website advising consumers on how they can reduce the environmental footprint of their clothing consumption. see the section on ‘Clothing: greener choices’ at www.direct.gov.uk for more information.

the ‘perfect t-shirt’

When the Continental Clothing Company set out to create the ‘perfect t-shirt’, the aim was to consider all the impacts on the workforce, local economy, environment and climate change, whilst delivering a commercially viable and desirable product offering on a mass scale. the guiding principles were the complete traceability and transparency of the supply chain, and best practice at every stage. Continental Clothing became a pilot partner with the Carbon trust’s product footprinting and labelling programme, working towards the development of the footprinting methodology for textile products. the company then extended the calculations to include screen-printing, mail-order retailing, consumer use and disposal, thus completing the first full life cycle analysis using the PAs2050 Carbon Footprint methodology. the footprinting study and analysis pinpointed the ghg hotspots throughout the manufacturing process, from choice of fibres, fabric and garment construction, through to the wet processing, accessorising, screen printing, to packaging and transportation/distribution. the study provided vital information to the designers, logistics managers and marketers, in order to effectively control and reduce the impact on climate change. By switching to wind energy at their india manufacturing plant, they achieved a 90% reduction in carbon footprint compared to an identical product manufactured using conventional energy sources. the t-shirt carbon footprint was reduced from 7kgCo2e down to 0.7kgCo2e.

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the task group on clothes cleaning is made up of representatives from across the value chain, including manufacturers, retailers and government. Discussions within the group have led to the conclusion that the two areas where collaborative action by industry could have the most influence on reducing the environmental impact of clothes cleaning were line-drying and wash at 30°.

the next step for the group is developing collaborative action to further the take up of washing at 30°. george at Asda, sainsbury’s, Marks and spencer and tesco have all taken action to put this message on their clothes labelling. Although great strides have been made, for example 21% of consumers now wash at 30° compared with 2% in 2002, the group is committed to improving these figures further. A key challenge ahead lays in the successful communication of the wash at 30° message – so that it becomes normal behaviour.

reuse and recycling task group

this group formed in september 2010, in response to the evidence developed on UK clothing reuse and recycling. the primary objective is to develop collective actions to which a number of organisations can contribute as these are likely to have a greater national impact than individual actions. it aims to achieve this by:

improving collection and separation of reusable and recyclable clothing;

undertaking market development activities, including understanding market operation, developing good practice and techniques; and

liaising with other industry member and interest groups to promote collections and uptake of reused and recycled clothing.

the group includes manufacturers, retailers, brands, collectors, recyclers and government representatives. Work focuses on clothing and excludes carpets. the group will also address the balance of quality of collected clothing with the volume collected and is aware that increasing collections will result in a greater amount of clothing suitable only for recycling. it will be important, therefore, to develop separation techniques and outlets markets for recycled products. the group will also cover the development of markets for different grades of recyclate.

action area 2: Consumption trends and behaviour

Action under this area relates mainly to Defra-led research on public understanding of sustainable clothing and raising consumer awareness of the issues involved.

Defra has also been developing webpages on the environment section of the Direct gov website advising consumers on how they can reduce the environmental footprint of their clothing consumption. see the section on ‘Clothing: greener choices’ at www.direct.gov.uk for more information.

the ‘perfect t-shirt’

When the Continental Clothing Company set out to create the ‘perfect t-shirt’, the aim was to consider all the impacts on the workforce, local economy, environment and climate change, whilst delivering a commercially viable and desirable product offering on a mass scale. the guiding principles were the complete traceability and transparency of the supply chain, and best practice at every stage. Continental Clothing became a pilot partner with the Carbon trust’s product footprinting and labelling programme, working towards the development of the footprinting methodology for textile products. the company then extended the calculations to include screen-printing, mail-order retailing, consumer use and disposal, thus completing the first full life cycle analysis using the PAs2050 Carbon Footprint methodology. the footprinting study and analysis pinpointed the ghg hotspots throughout the manufacturing process, from choice of fibres, fabric and garment construction, through to the wet processing, accessorising, screen printing, to packaging and transportation/distribution. the study provided vital information to the designers, logistics managers and marketers, in order to effectively control and reduce the impact on climate change. By switching to wind energy at their india manufacturing plant, they achieved a 90% reduction in carbon footprint compared to an identical product manufactured using conventional energy sources. the t-shirt carbon footprint was reduced from 7kgCo2e down to 0.7kgCo2e.

action area 3: Awareness, media, education and networks An important element in the work of the sustainable Clothing roadmap has been in raising awareness of the environmental and social impacts of clothing. A number of participants hold annual conferences and exhibitions with a sustainable clothing theme. raising the profile of these issues amongst consumers, retailers and manufacturers is an ongoing aim of the roadmap process.

sustainable Clothing roadmap Progress report 2011 | 11

image: Michael Blann

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Fashioning the Future

the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at the london College of Fashion, set up a Masters degree in fashion and the environment in 2008. the course provides students with the knowledge and skills to use design to develop positive change in the ecological, social and cultural impacts relating to fashion. teaching and learning tools on the topic of sustainability are being developed for undergraduate fashion based courses. online resources, workshops and one to one sessions to inform and grow fashion businesses’ capability to respond to ethical, environmental and cultural concerns and to find new opportunities for sustainable practice are also being developed.

Cotton made in africa

environmental damage, drinking water depletion and soil exploitation have serious consequences for poor farmers. the objective of the Cotton made in Africa initiative (part of the Aid by trade Foundation) is to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers whilst protecting the environment and supporting social progress. For example, long term maintenance of soil fertility is much more likely to happen once smallholder farmers have reached a level of income, food security and technical ability to allow them to ‘invest’ into their acreage over a number of planting cycles rather than to live from hand to mouth. income and education are thus important determinants not only for social progress, but also for environmental sustainability in rural Africa. the Aid by trade Foundation and its partners are providing smallholder training to increase productivity and income through sustainable farming methods. it is also involved in community projects to improve quality of, and access to, health, education, and in payment of Cotton made in Africa dividends to add to farming income. so far, CmiA’s production standards have been verified with over 250,000 farmers in Burkina Faso, Benin, ivory Coast, Malawi and Zambia. Cotton made in Africa finances its support to social development and sustainable cotton growing by a small licensing fee, levied on retailers.

Schools Clothing Collection

The Salvation Army Trading Company (SATCoL), collects around 3,000 tonnes of usable or recyclable textiles a month, less than 2.5 tonnes of that is sent to landfill. As part of its textile recycling work, sAtCol launched an educational and practical clothing collection scheme specifically designed for schools. the project developed a DVD to be shown in school assemblies and classrooms, with Chris tarrant and gary lineker teaching children the benefits of recycling. the information produced focuses on the reasons for recycling of textiles, how recycling works and what happens to clothing unsuitable for reuse. sAtCol has also worked with a number of schools to provide collection bags that the children are encouraged to fill with donations before they’re collected, helping to facilitate textile recycling in a practical way for young people.

Courses in Colour

As around 90% of clothing consumed in the UK is imported, encouraging environmental and ethical improvements through the international clothing supply chain is essential for improving the sustainability of UK clothing. Dyeing is recognised as being a high impact process that consumes large quantities of water, chemicals and energy, and the dyeing process is known to be a significant source of pollution. The Society of Dyes and Colourists is providing a range of courses and educational qualifications on best practice in the wet processing of textiles, colour management, fastness testing and the environmental case for this. running in the UK, india, hong Kong, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and seeking to roll out to more countries, the range of courses are extending to include topics that will influence how dyehouses are run and how communication through the supply chain is managed in the future.

action area 4:Creating market drivers goods that are bought by the public sector can affect product markets. the development of the new government Buying standards (gBs) are designed to make it easier for government buyers to buy sustainably and for the supply chain to have a clear sense of government’s procurement needs. the gBs for textiles, developed by Defra, cover clothing, uniforms and some furnishings and will be mandatory for central government departments from April 2011. the UK’s gBs reflect, and in certain aspects go beyond, the eU voluntary standards on green Public Procurement. government departments and frontline service providers will be encouraged not only to meet the standard but to reach for the ‘award’ level of ambition. For more information visit: http://sd.defra.gov.uk/advice/public/buying/

public procurement nHS trial

Defra commissioned this pilot study to investigate how staff uniforms can be procured in the public sector with greater emphasis on sustainable development (sD). the project focused on nhs trusts as these are bodies which are advised to follow government guidance on sustainable procurement but not bound by it. the project provides expert guidance on significant aspects of sD in procurement exercises in order to deliver more sustainable, value for money solutions without compromising quality or function. Working with four trusts, each at different stages of awareness and implementation of sD issues, the project will draw up case studies exploring lessons learnt and best practice in terms of sustainable procurement. the results of this trial will be shared widely with public sector procurers to encourage greater inclusion of sustainability criteria when procuring uniforms.

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sustainable Clothing roadmap Progress report 2011 | 13

The Salvation Army Trading Company (SATCoL), collects around 3,000 tonnes of usable or recyclable textiles a month, less than 2.5 tonnes of that is sent to landfill. As part of its textile recycling work, sAtCol launched an educational and practical clothing collection scheme specifically designed for schools. the project developed a DVD to be shown in school assemblies and classrooms, with Chris tarrant and gary lineker teaching children the benefits of recycling. the information produced focuses on the reasons for recycling of textiles, how recycling works and what happens to clothing unsuitable for reuse. sAtCol has also worked with a number of schools to provide collection bags that the children are encouraged to fill with donations before they’re collected, helping to facilitate textile recycling in a practical way for young people.

As around 90% of clothing consumed in the UK is imported, encouraging environmental and ethical improvements through the international clothing supply chain is essential for improving the sustainability of UK clothing. Dyeing is recognised as being a high impact process that consumes large quantities of water, chemicals and energy, and the dyeing process is known to be a significant source of pollution. The Society of Dyes and Colourists is providing a range of courses and educational qualifications on best practice in the wet processing of textiles, colour management, fastness testing and the environmental case for this. running in the UK, india, hong Kong, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and seeking to roll out to more countries, the range of courses are extending to include topics that will influence how dyehouses are run and how communication through the supply chain is managed in the future.

action area 4:Creating market drivers goods that are bought by the public sector can affect product markets. the development of the new government Buying standards (gBs) are designed to make it easier for government buyers to buy sustainably and for the supply chain to have a clear sense of government’s procurement needs. the gBs for textiles, developed by Defra, cover clothing, uniforms and some furnishings and will be mandatory for central government departments from April 2011. the UK’s gBs reflect, and in certain aspects go beyond, the eU voluntary standards on green Public Procurement. government departments and frontline service providers will be encouraged not only to meet the standard but to reach for the ‘award’ level of ambition. For more information visit: http://sd.defra.gov.uk/advice/public/buying/

public procurement nHS trial

Defra commissioned this pilot study to investigate how staff uniforms can be procured in the public sector with greater emphasis on sustainable development (sD). the project focused on nhs trusts as these are bodies which are advised to follow government guidance on sustainable procurement but not bound by it. the project provides expert guidance on significant aspects of sD in procurement exercises in order to deliver more sustainable, value for money solutions without compromising quality or function. Working with four trusts, each at different stages of awareness and implementation of sD issues, the project will draw up case studies exploring lessons learnt and best practice in terms of sustainable procurement. the results of this trial will be shared widely with public sector procurers to encourage greater inclusion of sustainability criteria when procuring uniforms.

action area 5: traceability acrossthe supply chain (ethics, trade and environment)

this action area encompasses a range of activities, including the development and implementation of ethical audit processes, the promotion of Fairtrade practices and animal welfare standards. Many of the actions in this area focus on retailers’ commitments to improve supply chain traceability – understanding the path from primary production to finished garment is crucial for accountability.

image: Felipe Dupouy

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14 | sustainable Clothing roadmap Progress report 2011

the new actions which have been added in this area since the last progress report are:

Better Cotton Initiative’s commitment to develop an online central database keeping track of Better Cotton supplies and development of a unique bale iD system.

John Lewis will also introduce a traceability system allowing transparency of cotton supply chains from growers to finished product.

ongoing actions in this area include Sainsbury’s traceability programme to be implemented in Bangladesh for 100% cotton garments, George at Asda has also committed to further develop their ethical audit process to cover more elements of the supply chain including fabric mills. Tesco is now in the roll out phase of its action on working with animal welfare groups to develop sourcing policies on animal welfare for cashmere, angora, feathers and non mulesed Australian merino wool. the company has established monitoring systems to manage enforcement of the process.

RaGs

Another action in this area is the Responsible and Accountable Garment Sector initiative (rAgs).Funded by UKaid from the Department for international Development (DFiD), the rAgs Challenge Fund has been set up to support projects aimed at improving conditions of vulnerable workers in the ready-made garment production industries. the fund is aimed at workers in low-income countries in Asia and sub-saharan Africa that supply the UK market. the overall objective of rAgs is that responsible and ethical production becomes the norm in the garment manufacturing sector supplying the UK. More specifically, it aims to stimulate and catalyse sustainable improvements in working conditions through better supply chain practices in the UK and in producer countries. At present, £2.1 million has been committed over two years for 12 projects, mainly targeting production and production management skills to increase wages through productivity, workers rights, audit skills and Fairtrade principles.

For more information visit: www.dfid.gov.uk

ConClUsions

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Another action in this area is the Responsible and Accountable Garment Sector initiative (rAgs).Funded by UKaid from the Department for international Development (DFiD), the rAgs Challenge Fund has been set up to support projects aimed at improving conditions of vulnerable workers in the ready-made garment production industries. the fund is aimed at workers in low-income countries in Asia and sub-saharan Africa that supply the UK market. the overall objective of rAgs is that responsible and ethical production becomes the norm in the garment manufacturing sector supplying the UK. More specifically, it aims to stimulate and catalyse sustainable improvements in working conditions through better supply chain practices in the UK and in producer countries. At present, £2.1 million has been committed over two years for 12 projects, mainly targeting production and production management skills to increase wages through productivity, workers rights, audit skills and Fairtrade principles.

For more information visit: www.dfid.gov.uk

sustainable Clothing roadmap Progress report 2011 | 15

ConClUsions

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stAge 4: evaluation

At the end of 2010, WrAP commissioned an independent evaluation of several Defra and WrAP initiated voluntary agreements, including the sustainable Clothing roadmap. Although not yet published, the report will provide a useful source of feedback and input into future management of the roadmap process.

in April 2011, WrAP formally takes over as the lead body on the steering of the roadmap. this transfer represents recognition that the sustainability of clothing remains a priority issue and needs to be in the mainstream of government funded activity to increase resource efficiency. Defra will remain closely involved throughout the process.

looking back at the various stages of the roadmap process, in terms of evidence gathering, this area of activity is mostly complete and no further major research is anticipated at present. stakeholder involvement continues to increase, and members of the roadmap’s steering group chair sessions.

to date, the actions within the roadmap have been wide ranging. Feedback from participants highlights calls for the Action Plan to go beyond its current scope of primarily individual actions and to develop concerted action. in the future, the focus of the roadmap will be on developing smaller numbers of collaborative/group actions and in giving greater steer on target setting. this approach is already being taken on in the two task groups on clothes cleaning and reuse and recycling.

For the future, a rolling programme of task groups is envisaged, with new groups forming to address particular issues, and ending when their task is completed. A new group to agree metrics and product category rules for assessing resource impacts is currently under discussion.

Catalysing debate and increasing consumer understanding of the concept of sustainable clothing is also a key part of the roadmap process. Clothing made from certified organic cotton, recycled polyester clothing and Fair trade certified clothes are all examples of actions being taken to improve the sustainability of clothing. Although varying in levels of sustainability improvement, these kinds of examples help consumers become aware of their purchases and what their choices mean for the wider world.

this is a global challenge, and the UK is not alone in seeking solutions to the issues surrounding sustainable clothing. Work continues with international partners to push for greater action in supplier countries. As population figures rise and prosperity increases around the globe, the demand for commodities will escalate and only those sectors and businesses within them who are preparing for this future will remain prosperous. Profitability and sustainability can no longer be seen as irreconcilable forces, but inextricably linked.

For further information please visit:

Defra website: www.defra.gov.uk

WrAP website: www.wrap.org.uk

Contact email: products.policy@defra.gsi.gov.uk

16 | sustainable Clothing roadmap Progress report 2011

Department for environment, Food and rural Affairs nobel house 17 smith square london sW1P 3Jr

tel: 020 7238 6000 Website: www.defra.gov.uk

© Crown Copyright 2011Copyright in the typographical arrangement and design rests with the Crown.

this publication may be re-used free of charge in any format or medium for research for non-commercial purposes, private study or for internal circulation within an organisation. this is subject to it being re-used accurately and not used in a misleading context. the material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the publication specified.

information about this publication and copies are available from:

sustainable Products and Materials Defra ergon house 17 smith square london sW1P 3Jr email: products.policy@defra.gsi.gov.uk

this document is available on the Defra website

Published by the Department for environment, Food and rural Affairs

PB13461

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For the future, a rolling programme of task groups is envisaged, with new groups forming to address particular issues, and ending when their task is completed. A new group to agree metrics and product category rules for assessing resource impacts is currently under discussion.

Catalysing debate and increasing consumer understanding of the concept of sustainable clothing is also a key part of the roadmap process. Clothing made from certified organic cotton, recycled polyester clothing and Fair trade certified clothes are all examples of actions being taken to improve the sustainability of clothing. Although varying in levels of sustainability improvement, these kinds of examples help consumers become aware of their purchases and what their choices mean for the wider world.

this is a global challenge, and the UK is not alone in seeking solutions to the issues surrounding sustainable clothing. Work continues with international partners to push for greater action in supplier countries. As population figures rise and prosperity increases around the globe, the demand for commodities will escalate and only those sectors and businesses within them who are preparing for this future will remain prosperous. Profitability and sustainability can no longer be seen as irreconcilable forces, but inextricably linked.

For further information please visit:

Defra website: www.defra.gov.uk

WrAP website: www.wrap.org.uk

Contact email: products.policy@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Department for environment, Food and rural Affairs nobel house 17 smith square london sW1P 3Jr

tel: 020 7238 6000 Website: www.defra.gov.uk

© Crown Copyright 2011Copyright in the typographical arrangement and design rests with the Crown.

this publication may be re-used free of charge in any format or medium for research for non-commercial purposes, private study or for internal circulation within an organisation. this is subject to it being re-used accurately and not used in a misleading context. the material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the publication specified.

information about this publication and copies are available from:

sustainable Products and Materials Defra ergon house 17 smith square london sW1P 3Jr email: products.policy@defra.gsi.gov.uk

this document is available on the Defra website

Published by the Department for environment, Food and rural Affairs

PB13461

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For further information please visit:Defra website: www.defra.gov.ukWRAP website: www.wrap.org.ukContact email: products.policy@defra.gsi.gov.uk

PB13461

only at

DEF-PB13461-Clothing.indd 18 12/04/2011 17:00