Resources

A summary of USA packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) developments in during 2023.

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.

Over the last decade, the circular economy has been a huge success story. In the UK it has grown by 20% between 2014 and 2019. 

While roughly equal numbers of jobs are held by men and women across the UK, only 25% of jobs in the circular economy are held by women. This understates and undervalues the role of women who frequently undertake unpaid activities such as volunteering within the sector.

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.

From new voluntary agreements in Colombia and Denmark to engaging citizens in 12 countries through Food Waste Action Week, our Annual Report gives an insight into what WRAP was busy working on in 2022/23. 

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. 

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.

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.

In the 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy for England, textiles was highlighted as a priority waste stream for which the ‘polluter pays’ principle should be invoked and Defra committed to review and consult on the potential of an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme and product standards for the fashion and textiles industry.