Further pressure has been placed on the global viscose industry following the release of a new report from the Changing Markets Foundation, which partners with NGOs on market-focused campaigns.
The study, based on over a year’s worth of investigations and research, found that despite bold leadership from some brands, a large part of the industry has still not signed up to cleaner production.
Published towards the end of July, the report concludes that “faced with evidence of severe environmental harm at textiles factories, the global fashion industry has made mixed progress towards cleaning up viscose production.”
Among its most alarming observations is that luxury brands including Gucci, Prada and Chanel sit alongside low-cost retailers, such as Asda, Lidl and online brands Boohoo and Missguided “with a complete lack of engagement on a critical sustainability issue.”
“Viscose is the third most commonly used textile fibre in the world and has the potential to be a sustainable fibre,” it states. “However, if not produced responsibly, viscose can have a devastating impact.”
Changing Markets’ investigations found that companies supplying viscose to global fashion brands were dumping toxic wastewater in lakes and waterways, destroying subsistence agriculture and fisheries. Communities living near some of the plants spoke of “a lack of access to clean drinking water, sickening smells that were making life unbearable and higher incidence of serious diseases such as cancer,” it says.
The organisation has revealed that in light of this evidence, seven retail brands have committed to cleaning up their viscose supply chain. Inditex, Asos, Marks & Spencer, H&M, Tesco, Esprit and C&A have all signed up to Changing Markets’ Roadmap towards responsible viscose and modal fibre manufacturing and started engaging with their suppliers. Changing Markets reveals that Next is also set to sign up.
“However, brands from both ends of the fashion industry have failed to respond to letters sent by a group of environmental and consumer NGOs and there is scant detail about their environmental policies online,” it says. “While other leading retailers, such as Arcadia Group (owner of Topshop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins), have engaged with the campaign, they still do not have any policies relating to viscose, nor provide any transparency about their supply chain.”
Changing Markets acknowledges that “viscose manufacturers are making progress on sustainability.” It notes that “the two largest viscose producers in the world have both committed to making all their sites meet EU Ecolabel requirements for viscose production by 2022.”
However, it stresses that “more needs to be done: the report reveals that the EU Ecolabel currently does not cover water pollution and is therefore not sufficient to show compliance with Changing Markets’ Roadmap. In addition, manufacturers need to translate initial commitments into detailed implementation plans, concrete investments and the transparent reporting of their performance, including of complaints and grievances.”
It adds that “with this commitment, clothing brands and retailers are sending a clear message to viscose manufacturers that they expect the industry to move towards closed-loop production by 2023-25.”
As sustainability continues to increase in importance in the eyes of today’s consumer, the report’s findings can only intensify the pressure on the viscose industry – and the brands and retailers sourcing the fibre – to take further significant action going forward.
Source: www.wtin.com