One Garbage Truck of Textiles Wasted Every Second

Kristine Upesleja of Madisons Innovative and Advisory Board member of Textile Arts LA introduced us to the work of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. In November 2017 Ellen MacArthur and Stella McCartney co-hosted the launch of the Foundation’s report A new textiles economy: Redesigning fashion's future. The report, created by the Circular Fibres Initiative, calls for the fashion industry to adopt this new vision and create cross industry collaborations to achieve it.

As working artists and professionals, and concerned citizens who are both engaged in a global economy by necessity AND attempting to make more informed choices, we owe it to ourselves to be cognizant of the impact of our artistic and commercial efforts. We've pasted some highlights and graphics from the report below, but the entire interview, releases, and the report itself (at a healthy 150 pages!) are all worth your time. 

"Clothes are an everyday necessity, and for many an important expression of individuality. Yet the industry’s current take-make-dispose model is the root cause of many environmental impacts and substantial economic value loss. Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled or burned. An estimated USD 500 billion value is lost every year due to clothing that’s barely worn and rarely recycled. If nothing changes, by 2050 the fashion industry will use up a quarter of the world’s carbon budget.

By presenting a clear understanding of the challenges faced and the economic opportunities, as well as practical levers for business, innovation and policy action, the New Textiles Economy report is a vital step in an industry-led approach to develop a global textiles system fit for the 21st Century."