UK gov meets to discuss sustainable clothing

People from the fashion, clothing and textile industries met with the UK government this week to discuss ways to making the clothing industry more sustainable.

Along with this, Defra, the department for environment, food and rural affairs is setting up a sustainable products and materials, along with a range of other actions.

And for those who didn’t think that clothing is an industry with much of an impact, check out these stats:

• UK clothing consumption is high at approximately 2 million tonnes (£23 billion) per annum. For the period 1996-2005, consumer expenditure on clothing and textiles has grown 34%, with predicted demand increases.

• In 2006, UK clothing and textiles produced up to two million tonnes of waste, 3.1 million tonnes of CO2 and 70 million tonnes of waste water.

• Clothing imports into the EU as a whole now account for 42 per cent of the global market. In the UK only 10 per cent of our clothing is manufactured at home, the rest is imported.

This and more on Defra’s site.