In February the Environmental Audit Committee published

Fixing Fashion Report: Clothing Consumption and Sustainability

which called on the Government to end the era of throwaway fashion through wide-ranging recommendations covering environmental and labour market practices.

All their recommendations have now been rejected.

Environmental Audit Committee Chair Mary Creagh MP said:

“Fashion producers should be forced to clear up the mountains of waste they create. The Government has rejected our call, demonstrating that it is content to tolerate practices that trash the environment and exploit workers despite having just committed to net zero emission targets.

“The Government is out of step with the public who are shocked by the fact that we are sending 300,000 tonnes of clothes a year to incineration or landfill. Ministers have failed to recognise that urgent action must be taken to change the fast fashion business model which produces cheap clothes that cost the earth.”

On workers’ rights Mary Creagh said:

“We presented the Government with the evidence that it has failed to stop garment workers in this country being criminally underpaid, despite its claim that the number of national minimum wage inspectors has increased.

“The public has a right to know that the clothes they buy are not produced by children or forced labour, however the Government hasn’t accepted our recommendations on the Modern Slavery Act to force fashion retailers to increase transparency in their supply chains.
“This is plain wrong. The EAC will be closely monitoring steps that the Government claims it is taking to address the problems exposed in our report.”

The Fixing Fashion Report is available here.

The government’s response is here.

The Environmental Audit Committee.