UK clothing consumption is rising: Wrap report

According to the report, UK households spend an estimated £52.7 billion a year on clothing which includes mostly garments (£47.39 billion), clothing fabrics (£0.86 billion) and clothing accessories such as ties, scarves and gloves (£4.48 billion).

Wrap report suggests that once textiles have been collected for re-use and recycling, the largest end market is the export market. In 2014, the UK exported nearly 352,000 tonnes of used textiles, worth £342 million, making it the third largest exporter of used textiles in the world after the US and Germany.

However, the report states re-use and recycling market of UK for used textiles is experiencing a downfall due to high price rises and influx of new entrants. The demand from overseas is declining, reducing incentive for recyclers and exporters to collect used textiles, and thereby increasing the proportion sent to landfill.

Ban on imports of used textiles in a few African countries, change in import tariffs in Ukraine, and fall in demand from key regions are the challenges being faced by UK. The report suggests including greater re-use of textiles in domestic and overseas markets and including closed loop fibre-to-fibre recycling as market development to deal with such challenges. (HO)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India