London's position as one of the leading global capitals for green fashion will receive a further boost today after a raft of clothing, textile and retail firms announced they are to sign up to the government's Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP).
Speaking at an event at London Fashion Week to mark the one-year anniversary of the SCAP initiative, environment minister Dan Norris said more than 40 firms had endorsed the plan, which aims to promote sustainable clothing best practices and requires signatories to commit to reduce their environmental impacts, primarily through improved supply chain and recycling practices.
Recent new signatories include the British Retail Consortium, Ethical Fashion Forum, Levis Strauss and the Society of Dyers and Colourists, which join high-profile members such as Asda, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Nike and Adidas.
Norris said the initiative was "progressing as planned", adding that the voluntary commitments made at the launch of the scheme last year were either " well underway or now completed".
For example, Asda, Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury's have all increased their ranges of Fair Trade and Organic clothes, increased take-back and recovery of unwanted clothing, and improved supply chain traceability in the past year.
Meanwhile, Tesco is preparing to launch an online capsule collection of sustainable clothes, in partnership with green clothing firm From Somewhere, after a meeting at last year's Estethica ethical clothing show at London Fashion Week.
Additionally, Defra said that 170 organisations have worked with the government on a project to develop new best practices for reducing the environmental impacts of cleaning clothes and using dyes, and maximising reuse and recycling of clothes and textiles.
The government also announced that it has made £3.5m available over three years through its Responsible and Accountable Garment Sector (RAGS) fund, which is inviting bids from organisations seeking to improve working conditions in the clothing business.
"The Department for International Development will soon be inviting proposals to our RAGS fund - giving businesses, unions and NGOs the opportunity to drive better working conditions in export garment production in Asia and Africa," said International Development Minister Gareth Thomas. "We want responsibly and ethically produced clothing to be the norm in the UK."
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