What can my organisation do?
WRAP research shows that extending the life of clothes by nine extra months can reduce carbon, water and waste footprints by around 4-10% each.
Retailers and brands can make a significant difference by making small changes to increase the durability of clothing during both the design and production process.
WRAP has worked with Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) signatories to build a knowledge-base of information on techniques for extending the life of clothes. Using this information your organisation can unlock the economic and environmental benefits of designing clothing which has greater technical durability and will appeal to consumers for longer.
Design, produce and sell long lasting clothes that can be repaired or re-used
Sustainable clothing guide
The Sustainable Clothing Guide focusses on producing clothing that lasts longer by looking at the simple steps that can be taken to improve durability.
How do I implement these changes in my organisation?
Extending clothing life protocol
The Extending Clothing Life Protocol is a set of guides and principles to aid clothes designers and manufacturers in creating longer lasting clothing.
Want to design clothes that last longer?
Design for extending clothing life
This series of guidance notes provides different audiences within product development teams, for example designers, buyers and retailers, advice on designing to improve clothing life. Including product area specific guidance for:
- Childrenswear
- Casualwear
- Knitwear
- Tailoring
- Denim
- Sportswear
- Occasionalwear
- Underwear
Are my efforts working?
Measuring active use of clothing
Use WRAP’s research on how long people keep and regularly wear their clothes to benchmark your organisation's efforts.
How to measure guide
As part of our sustainable clothing guide we have a practical guidance to help achieve consistent clothing measurements in men’s trousers and shirts.
Download our how to measure guide here
Designing out waste
Case study - leftovers from garment manufacturing in Sri Lanka
This case study reviews opportunities to make more efficient use of fabric leftovers from garment manufacturing, through remanufacturing and recycling.