This week, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Make Fashion
Circular
initiative launched a collaborative campaign with New York City, to help
save the metropolis’ clothes from languishing in landfills.
For #WearNext — a city-wide effort to tackle waste and pollution in the
fashion industry — Make Fashion Circular will work alongside the New York
City Department of Sanitation and the New York City Economic Development
Corporation, along with collectors, recyclers and
resellers.
Every year, NYC landfills 200 million pounds of clothing (equivalent to over
440 Statues of Liberty). Globally, 73 percent of the materials used to
produce clothing are landfilled or burned at the end of their life, while
less than 1 percent of old clothing goes on to be used to make new clothing.
Make Fashion Circular brings together top brands, designers, producers and
city authorities to “radically redesign the fashion industry.” The
initiative is leading international efforts to establish a circular economy
for fashion, where business models increase the use of clothes, clothes are
made from safe and renewable materials, and old clothes are used to make new
ones.
The campaign has been initiated by:
-
Make Fashion Circular
-
New York City’s Department of Sanitation and Economic Development
Corporation
-
Brands: ASOS, Athleta, Banana Republic, Gap,
H&M,
Reformation and Zara
-
Collectors, resellers and recyclers: Bank and Vogue, Hallotex,
I:CO,
Lenzing, ThredUP
From March 4 to June 9, the #WearNext campaign will work to make sure NYC’s
old clothes find a new life. Participating stores and other locations across
the city — more than 1,100 in total — will act as drop-off points, marked on
a first-of-its-kind online map, created by the NYC Department of Sanitation, that will make it
as easy as possible for locals to save their unwanted clothes from being
landfilled. New Yorkers will also be encouraged to swap, sell or repair
their clothes; and share their stories on social media, using the hashtag
#WearNext.
Make Fashion Circular lead Francois Souchet said: “As customers, we know
where we buy our clothes and we know where we have worn them, but #WearNext
is about the next stage of that journey: Where do our clothes
go
when we have finished with them? We believe clothes should never be trash.
By bringing together these brands, along with the City of New York and
recyclers, we have an opportunity to ensure New Yorkers can find a new life
for their clothing.
“It is an important step, but we also need to recognize that customers alone
cannot fix the fashion industry’s waste and pollution problems. We need the
industry to work together to create a system where clothes are made from
safe and renewable
materials,
new business models increase their use, and used clothes are turned into new
ones.”
The campaign has been supported by global media agency Art Partner,
which has produced a series of advertisements featuring the work of
photographer Anthony Cotsifas, which will appear in LinkNYC Boards and
bus stops across the city.
NYCEDC President and CEO James Patchett said: "Make Fashion Circular
will help us reduce waste and promote fashion sustainability in a thoughtful
and systemic way. We’re proud to be part of an initiative that will help us
improve the environment and create a new path forward for the industry. We
thank our partners at Ellen MacArthur Foundation and our fellow sister
agency, DSNY, for their leadership on this program.”
Data about the amount of clothing saved from landfill and information on
what happens to the clothes that have been saved will be collected to
support Make Fashion Circular’s efforts to eliminate waste from the fashion
industry. For more information on this work, visit
tiny.cc/makefashioncircular.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Mar 5, 2019 7pm EST / 4pm PST / 12am GMT / 1am CET