Fashion retailers such as JD sports, Boohoo and Sports Direct are failing to reduce their environmental and social impact according to MPs.
Fashion is a big business in the UK, people in the UK buy more clothes per person than any other country in Europe. The fashion industry was worth £33.3 billion in the UK economy in 2017.
Amazon, TK Maxx and Missguided were also named by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) as being part of the “least engaged” in sustainable fashion and labour market initiatives. The EAC said it was “shocking” that the fashion firms were “failing to take action” to help the environment. Only Missguided is a member of ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative), which aims to improve working conditions for workers globally.
None of these fashion retailers had signed up to SCAP (Sustainable Clothing Action Plan) to reduce carbon, water and waste footprint of the ACT (Action, Collaboration, Transformation) labour rights and living-wage agreement. The report amids concerns that it encourages over consumption and generates excessive waste.
Environmental Audit Committee Chair Mary Creagh MP said:
“We want to see a thriving fashion industry that employs people fairly, inspires creativity and contributes to the economic success of the UK.
“It’s shocking to see that a group of major retailers are failing to take action to promote environmental sustainability and protect their workers. It’s disappointing that only a third of the retailers we wrote to are signed up to ACT, an important global initiative working towards getting a living wage for all garment workers.
“By publishing this information, customers can choose whether they want to spend money with a company that is doing little to protect the environment or promote proper wages for garment workers. We hope this motivates underperforming retailers to start taking responsibility for their workers and their environmental impact.”
Disposable fashion has been under fire for the amount of their stuff that ends up in landfill but also because it can release toxic chemicals in production and the plastic fibres when washed. Last August their was 16 fashion retailers picked out and asked about what they were doing to cut the environmental and social impact of the clothes and shoes they sell.
The most engaged fashion retailers are ASOS, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Primark and Burberry. All of them use organic or sustainable cotton and gold materials and encourage customers to return any old clothing.
The moderately engaged retailers were Next, Debenhams, Arcadia Group and Asda.
