More apparel today is being made from recycled fabric and brands are increasingly moving towards ‘revolutionary fibres’ due to the focus on sustainability by apparel brands and retailers.

There have been a slew of brand announcements recently regarding sustainability with declarations of using ‘recycled fabrics’ or using ‘revolutionary fibres’ that can be upcycled into fashion collections.  The industry is rising to the challenge of sustainability and the fact that the environmental footprints of the industry have come under increased scrutiny.

Europe is particularly affected by this since discarded textiles which include used clothing and footwear, are becoming an increasingly big problem of waste and export. This comes based on a recent briefing by the European Environment Agency (EEA), which also states that management of used textiles is a huge challenge in Europe and they are to be collected separately in the EU by 2025.

However, brands are still being pointed in the direction of circularity. The EU’s recent ECOSYSTEX (European Community of Practice for a Sustainable Textile Ecosystem) sustainability initiative, was launched to accelerate collaboration in textile sustainability.

The important feature of ECOSYSTEX is the collaboration between academic and applied researchers, technology developers, textile industry experts and other stakeholders from across Europe.

In the US, California launched Bill SB 707 which introduces the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2023 which would promote circularity by responsibly tackling textile and clothing waste. The act would make producers establish a stewardship programme for the collection and recycling of textile and apparel articles that are unsuitable for further use.

This transition to sustainability and circularity by the industry is an interesting path and it remains to be seen whether these steps help with the world’s second largest polluter.