A greening of the UK clothing supply chain?

One of the Covid benefits has been the greening of the UK fashion supply chain. Not only has the UK imported less clothes, it has also sourced it from more localised supply chains. This a step in the right direction, still, it is a drop in the ocean for this industry which produces more carbon emissions than France, Germany and the UK combined1 and accounts for $ 3trillion, or 2% of the world’s GDP. It requires a radical transformation, at each stage of the value chain, to meet the pathway to 1.5 degrees.

The imports of UK clothing have shrunk by $2.4 billion, or 17%2 in 2020 vs. the prior year, and by 6.1% over the last 5 years, half more than up to 2020. Cambodia and India who completed the top 5 countries from where the UK sources its clothing, have, over the last couple of years, been supplanted by Italy and the Netherlands. Imports from China, the largest exporter of clothes entering UK soil, have more than halved over the past 5 years, with imports from the Netherlands increasing by almost two-thirds and from Italy by over a quarter. With better social regimes in place and shorter freight distances, it is a favourable move towards greening UK fashion. 

But is it really the case under the surface? 

1. The Netherlands, the ‘smooth entry point to Europe’ as described by the Dutch logistics trade body, imported more than $7 billion worth of clothing, and exported back just under $6 billion. 
2. It counts 3 out of the top 5 import countries like the UK (China, Bangladesh, and Turkey), but also new entrants with Germany and Belgium. 
3. Here again, we could assume a positive ESG impact with more local, European imports. To illustrate this, the Coriolis Kosmos ESG calculator attributes better Social score of 2.68 for Bangladesh vs. 3.55 for Germany (out of 5). 

But looking at the types of fibres that are being imported into the Netherlands from its European counterparts, it is mostly synthetic fibres. Most synthetic fibres such as polyester and nylon are petroleum-based and non-biodegradable, unlike natural fibres such as cotton. Synthetics also require a lot of water for production. Whilst water treatment may be well managed in these European countries, it is unlikely to be in the case of China and Turkey who complete the top 5 of countries of origin into the Netherlands. 

So, is the UK supply chain really greening thanks to covid? The immediate effect is lightly positive, both from a reduction in carbon emissions due to shorter transport routes, and from a social perspective with its immediate partners having more protective social policies and enforcement laws. But it still far from being green. 

When we look underneath the bonnet, a lot more needs to be done at each stage of the value chain. 

UK fashion is generally still unclear on its tier 3, 4 and 5 suppliers. These are all providers involved in producing the fibres including cotton farmers, fabric mills, tanneries, and those who trim, dye, or embroider the fabrics. And without a firm grip on that process, it is difficult to really determine whether UK fashion is becoming greener. 

From a retail phase, UK fashion brands that we have analysed seem to have taken steps towards reducing and greening their energy consumption, their waste, and are more conscious about their social responsibility with their employees and the wider community. WRAP, the charity promoting sustainability, reports that the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan 2020 signatories have reduced carbon by 10.6%, water by 13.5%, and waste across the product life cycle by 0.8% per tonne of clothing since 20123. Whilst this is positive, the fashion industry is still too linear, with just under 1% of fibres recycled back into clothing4, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. This still puts a strain on the extraction and consumption of raw materials (water, petroleum-oils), and the land uses linked to extensive farming such as cotton which represents about 30% of fibre production4.

From a use perspective, consumers are still buying clothes that they never wear. And fast fashion is exacerbating this issue. Clothing utilisation which is the average number of times a garment is worn before it is disposed – has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago6. Yet authorities and charities are not equipped well enough to cope with the level of textile being disposed. And with the affordable cost of fast fashion, consumers are not incentivised to embrace circular models or second-hand purchases. 

Everyone has a role to play when it comes to greening the fashion value chain. McKinsey and Company estimate that 60% of the fashion impact should come from producers, 20%7 from brands and retailers’ own operations, but most importantly through their influence on their tier 3, 4 and 5 suppliers, and 20% from consumers in the use and disposal phase (washing less frequently and at colder temperatures, relying on air-drying, buying less clothes, swapping clothes or buying second-hand).

1 https://www.globalfashionagenda.com/publications-and-policy/fashion-on-climate/

2 By Value of goods imported – source: Coriolis Multilateral 

3 https://wrap.org.uk/taking-action/textiles/initiatives/scap-2020

4 Ellen MacArthur Foundation, A new textiles economy: Redesigning fashion’s future,(2017, http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications) 

5 https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/style-Tsongas-sustainable-a-new-fast-fashion-formula

6 Ellen MacArthur Foundation, A new textiles economy: Redesigning fashion’s future,(2017, http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications)

7 https://www.globalfashionagenda.com/publications-and-policy/fashion-on-climate/