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Five leading businesses are the first brands and retailers to sign up to the European Clothing Action Plan (ECAP), a Europe-wide sustainable clothing plan which launched in May 2016. The first ECAP participants are brands and retailers Bobo Choses, OVS, Peak Performance, Primark, and Star Sock.
Funded by EU LIFE, ECAP is developing a pan-European framework to deliver practical actions that will reduce the carbon, water and waste footprints across the lifecycle of clothing. By signing up to ECAP, participants will be working towards this goal by following the initiative’s aims to:
- Divert 90,000 tonnes of clothing waste from landfill and incineration
- Save 1.6 million tonnes of CO2e
- Make 588 million m³ of water savings
As participants, the brands and retailers benefit from support in order to understand the current environmental impact of their fibre footprint and to develop a strategy to reduce this impact, through the selection of more sustainable alternatives – for example, choosing a more sustainable cotton over traditional cotton. One of ECAP’s project partners, MADE-BY, is seeking to engage with a total of 50 European fashion brands and retailers to support the development and implementation of bespoke sustainable fibre strategies.
WRAP’s head of products, Sarah Clayton, said: “As the first participants of ECAP, these organisations are championing sustainable clothing across Europe. The wheels are in motion, but more can be done – we are looking to welcome and involve more brands, retailers, manufacturers, reuse and recycling organisations, charities and consumers in the plan to drive greater sustainability of clothing across Europe.”
With the contribution of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Community Five prominent organisations from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Denmark are responsible for delivery of ECAP. They are:
- WRAP –UK based resource efficiency specialists,
- MADE-BY – an impact-driven European non-profit organisation with a mission to make sustainable fashion common practice,
- Rijkswaterstaat (RWS) – part of the Dutch ministry of Infrastructure and Environment working towards a sustainable environment,
- Danish Fashion Institute (DAFI) – an organisation established for and by the Danish fashion industry pioneering in clothing sustainability,
- London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) – a statutory Board providing a strategic approach to waste management in London.
Katharine Stewart, Director of Ethical Trade at Primark, said: “At Primark we are committed to reducing the impact that we have on the environment, and as part of that commitment we have signed up to the European Clothing Action Plan (ECAP). We look forward to working with ECAP and achieving our environmental sustainability goals.”
Eric Roosen, Founder of Star Sock, said: “ECAP helps Star Sock to organize practical solutions to act on reducing our footprints. With this help we can offer better socks for European consumers and for the environment within the same steps.”
Adriana Esperalba Esquerra, Creative Director of Bobo Choses, said: “Creating new and fun worlds for children that have a positive impact is at the core of the Bobo Choses brand. We joined ECAP in order to work together with partners such as MADE-BY and other brands so as to help drive sustainability across our brand and value chain in an integrated way. We are excited to be an ECAP participant and look forward to working towards achieving the collective environmental reduction targets.”
Source: ECAP
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