Last week (July, 11th) the UK team for C.L.A.S.S attended the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan Conference, having previously contributed to the research conducted for this by WRAP (Working together for a world without waste): it was great to see the culmination of this crucial initiative!  We heard from speakers including Dr Richard Swannell (SCAP), Dr Liz Goodwin (CEO WRAP), Lord Taylor of Holbeach (DEFRA), Jonas Eder-Hansen (NICE) and Adam Elman (M&S).
It was an inspiring day with a reminder of how important it is to continue working innovatively to ensure we tackle the resource security issues we are facing. The research showed that between us, we have in our collective wardrobes an astonishing £30 billion-worth of clothes that has hung there, un-used, for a year or more. If we were to increase the active use of our clothes by just nine extra months, we could reduce the water, carbon and waste impacts by up to 30%, and save £5 billion pounds! It isn’t only at the ‘wardrobe’ stage of clothing’s life that there are opportunities.  For example, more than 90% of the water footprint of an item of clothing occurs during fibre and garment supply.
This is the area where C.L.A.S.S has focused their work by offering designers innovative fibre options which help to reduce both the carbon and water footprint of garments they produce.