Resources

The 2024 Textiles Market Situation Report updates on the present state of the UK textiles market.

Are people open to the idea of ecolabels?

This report looks at the role that eco-labelling could play in providing citizens with information on the durability, recyclability, and repairability of products, inclusive of home textiles, furniture, and electrical appliances. The research also explores people’s receptivity to using ecolabels, and ultimately, their potential for influencing the products we decide to purchase. 

The latest Recycling Tracker results from March 2023 were published during Recycle Week 2023. The tracker results demonstrate several key findings about the recycling behaviours of people from across the UK. The annual survey of UK citizens has been running since 2004, it gathers evidence on recycling attitudes, knowledge, and behaviours.

As much as 80% of a textile product’s environmental impact is determined at the design stage. Therefore, the decisions made by design and product development teams have a huge impact on a product’s environmental footprint – from the raw materials used, to how the product is manufactured, the length of time it is kept in use and what happens to it when it is no longer desired or reaches the end of its usable life.

There is a lot to think about, which is why we have created our Circular Design Toolkit - a go-to resource for the fashion and textiles industry.

Circular business models offer a clear pathway for disrupting the fashion and textile industry’s linear operating model.

By increasing the number of times an item is worn and keeping clothing in circulation for as long as possible through services like rental, repair, resale and upcycling, the industry can replace the need for new clothing production and avoid the associated environmental impacts, while remaining profitable and serving the needs of a growing consumer population.

In September 2022, WRAP commissioned online consumer research into the current attitudes and behaviours of UK citizens in relation to home textiles, including what’s influencing consumers to make a home textiles purchase, through what routes are they buying and disposing of home textile items and what are their in-use habits in relation to those items. 

Around 70% of the food wasted in the UK is produced by citizens in their own homes, with over 4.5 million tonnes of food that could have been eaten being thrown away by UK households every year.

Ramadan is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. During the month-long celebration, it has been observed that the amount of food that is thrown away increases, with WRAP’s insights suggesting more food goes to waste over this period than at other times of the year.

Ramadan is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. During the month-long celebration, research has suggested leftover food waste is expected to go up from an average of 2.7 kilograms per person, per day, to 4.5 kilograms.

In autumn 2021, WRAP commissioned two large scale pieces of online consumer research on the life expectancy of different items of clothing in UK wardrobes and the UK’s appetite for adopting new models of clothing acquisition – some of which discard the notion of owning clothes all together.

The Resource Action Fund (RAF) was an £18 million fund, provided by Defra to support resource efficiency projects, with the goal of diverting, reducing, and better managing waste. The funding supported organisations in England which aimed to reduce waste and make better use of materials.

WRAP works with governments, businesses and citizens to create a world in which resources are used sustainably. Read our April 2020-21 annual review to learn more about our mission to accelerate the move to a sustainable, resource-efficient economy.