{"id":10803,"date":"2023-05-17T12:08:25","date_gmt":"2023-05-17T11:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.international-logistics-group.com\/uk-en\/?p=10803"},"modified":"2026-01-12T17:42:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T17:42:35","slug":"sustainable-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.international-logistics-group.com\/uk-en\/insights\/sustainable-fashion-10803\/","title":{"rendered":"The EU Green Deal: What do Fashion Brands Need to Know?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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ILG Author Helen Nichols<\/a>Helen Nichols<\/a><\/span>17 May 2023<\/span><\/p>\n

The EU Green Deal: What do Fashion Brands Need to Know?<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Updated June 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pressure is building on the fashion industry to address its sustainability record. New regulations in key territories mark a serious shift in governmental attitudes. In the words of the UK Environmental Audit Commission (EAC), \u201cThe fashion industry has marked its own homework for too long.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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In terms of both environmental damage and worker exploitation, there is much work to do. But for fashion brands with genuine intentions, this is an opportunity to put significant distance between themselves and the murky world of fast fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article we look at the reasons for the new regulations, the actions fashion brands need to take in response and the benefits of these actions for the planet, its people and the fashion business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Are Legislators Picking on Fashion?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From design to disposal, the fashion industry is one of the leading perpetrators of environmental and human damage. Textile production contributes more to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined. According to Statista<\/a><\/strong>, over four billion pieces of apparel are consumed every year in the UK alone*. That figure has risen by nearly half a billion in the last 10 years and is forecast to go on rising. This rapid increase in consumption of clothes has been met through destructive farming, use of harmful synthetic materials, high energy consumption, exploitation of cheap labour and polluting production processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the other end of the line, it has caused obscene levels of waste. Synthetic fibres have been found in the deep sea, in Arctic sea ice, in fish and shellfish. According to a report by Greenpeace, around 300,000 items of clothing bought in the UK are burned or sent to landfill every year. In Europe the average consumer throws away 11kg of textiles per year. Stella McCartney has spoken out about the \u201cequivalent of one garbage truck of textiles burned or landfilled every second\u201d on a global scale, and the fact that \u201cless than 1% of the material used to produce clothing is recycled into new clothing, meaning 99% of all textiles is waste\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The EU has graded textile consumption as having the fourth highest impact on the environment, after food, housing and mobility. That impact comes in the form of pressure on water and land use, in which the textile industry is in the top three, and resource use and greenhouse gas emissions, in which it is in the top five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After years of insufficient self-regulation, and with growing public concern over climate change and humanitarian issues, legislators have decided that it\u2019s time to enshrine the changes required for sustainable fashion into law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are the New Regulations?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The EU Green Deal, which was approved in 2020, includes the Sustainable Products Initiative (SPI), a regulation aimed at improving product circularity, energy performance and other environmental sustainability aspects. The SPI is scheduled to come into force this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

France is leading the way with a new regulation requiring every garment sold within its borders to have a label detailing its precise climate impact. This was to be implemented by the end of 2023. Under the EU Green Deal, this will be a requirement throughout Europe by 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In New York State, the new Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act (Fashion Act) will be the first regulation of its kind in the US to hold fashion brands accountable for their environmental and social impacts. Brands will be obliged to disclose information on their supply chains, including carbon emissions and labour standards. Those falling short of the regulatory standards will be forced to make changes or face fines and likely damage to their reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the horizon in the US is the Fabric Act, which incorporates five processes for improving the working conditions of garment workers. California has already passed its own Garment Worker Protection Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As yet there is no specific regulation in the UK holding fashion brands accountable for their environmental impact, but the 10-year Fashion Industry Sustainable Change Programme, launched in 2022 with the goal of creating a world-leading circular economy for fashion and textiles in the UK, is an indication that legislation will soon be on the way. Until then, UK brands will still be affected by legislation in other parts of the global market, both through overseas sales and their supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are the Key Elements of Sustainable Fashion?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Design<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Research has shown that 80% of a clothing product\u2019s impact on the environment throughout its lifecycle is determined at the design stage. Fashion designers are being set goals by the EU to ensure that by 2030 all textile products are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n