The Environmental Impact of Animal Production Must Be Considered

A roundtable on Policies for Sustainability and Circular Economy in European Fashion  was the first public appearance of the new European Commissioner for the Environment, Jessica Roswall, who met the European Industry at the event organised by the European Fashion Alliance (EFA).

The European textile and clothing sector has an annual turnover of 170 billion euros, but it also generates more than 12 million tonnes of textile waste. Only 22% is collected separately and 8% is reused. These numbers tell us that we have work to doJessica Roswall - European New Commissioner for the Environment

The problem of increasing textile waste is just one of many that the EU is trying to address with new legislation; carbon neutral by 2050 and a 55% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 compared to 1990.

The meeting was therefore an opportunity for discussion between Industry and EU Institutions in light of the package of policies and standards already adopted or in the process of being defined to achieve climate goals and which impact the design, production, labelling and waste management phases for each fashion production.

In all this, did the EU Commissioner for the Environment, in her speech, raise the matter of the impact deriving from animal production for fashion (leather and fur first and foremost, but also for feathers and yarns)? No!

Indeed, what emerges from the “Corporate Survey” conducted by EFA on a sample of 211 industry representatives and presented to the EU Commissioner is worrying:

• 88% of the companies interviewed declare that they have invested in sustainability, but over 50% do not yet have the tools or support necessary for a complete transition towards sustainable practices
• 15%, only, companies that declare that they use alternatives to leather
• 50% of companies confirmed that they have made public commitments to sustainability practices through various media, using platforms such as posters, data publications or press releases. However, some brands choose not to disclose their commitments, citing reasons such as not being ready yet (25%) or preferring to keep them internal (10%).

Based on the data collected by the European fashion industry, it clearly emerges that companies need support towards the ecological transition to define the steps to be taken in the necessary progressive disposal of animal materials (by definition unsustainable) in favour of innovative new generation and animal-free materials. This is why we created the Animal Free Fashion  website, where companies can find a roadmap and be rewarded with a specific rating for each type of animal material (fur, feathers, skins, yarns) discarded, a database of Next-Gen Materials is availiable on the website. Simone Pavesi - Head of LAV Animal Free Fashion Unit