Lenzing – Austrian fibre manufacturer Lenzing Group has joined WRAP’s Textiles 2030 voluntary agreement, the ten-year environmental programme for clothing and textiles.
The initiative has set itself a number of goals including halving carbon emissions by 2030, in line with the Paris Agreement, achieving net zero by 2050, and reducing the aggregate water footprint of new products sold by 30 per cent.
“As leaders in innovation, Lenzing are a partner of global textile and nonwoven manufacturers and drive many new technological developments. Having launched the pioneering Refibra technology in 2017 to contribute to the circular economy within the textile industry and proudly manufacturing in the United Kingdom, the Lenzing Group is honoured to take part in this initiative to accelerate circularity,” the firm said.
Since its launch in April, Textiles 2030 has signed up major brands and retailers, academic institutes, re-use and recycling organisations and 20 other affiliates.
The roadmap sets out targets on achieving circularity including:
- agreeing and implementing good practice principles on durability, recyclability, use of recycled content and minimising waste
- piloting reuse business models, sharing the lessons learned and developing large-scale projects to extend the lifetime of clothing in the UK
- setting up partnerships to supply and use recycled fibres for new products, accelerating the commercialisation of fibre-to-fibre recycling in the UK
WRAP says these actions will transform the UK’s "make-use-dispose" fashion culture into one where products are made sustainably, used longer and then re-used or recycled.
A "target-measure-act" approach will expect textiles businesses to set tough targets, measure impact and track progress publicly.
Investors are also encouraged to play their part by demanding climate-related financial disclosures and clear environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies from the companies they invest in.
