Introduction
The UNEP Textile Initiative provides strategic leadership and encourages sector-wide collaboration to accelerate a just transition towards a sustainable and circular textile value chain.
The fashion and textile sector isn't just about style; it's the frontline against the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. It also holds immense cultural and economic importance, providing livelihoods and a sense of identity for millions, while simultaneously posing risks to workers and the environment at every stage of its lifecycle.
UNEP’s work includes supporting and informing governments, such as through its Global Textile Policy Dialogue, addressing overproduction and overconsumption and assisting developing country stakeholders, particularly SMEs, in applying life-cycle tools and eliminating hazardous chemicals. Underpinning all of this is support for evidence-based decision making through its thought leadership reports.
UNEP uses the term ‘textiles’ as it includes the use of all textile products, including ‘fashion’ (focusing on trends), ‘garment and footwear’ (clothing and apparel), ‘home textiles’ (bedding and upholstery), and ‘technical textiles’ (used in medical, transport or construction industries).
Key Resources
- Stocktaking Report – this 2020 report provides an analysis of the environmental and socio-economic hotspots along the entire value chain, and looks at a range of associated impacts, as well as how different stages in the value chain are dominant in different impacts.
- Roadmap Report – this 2023 report builds on the analysis of the Stocktaking report by providing a Roadmap for all stakeholders to address these environmental and socio-economic hotspots through a circular textile sector. It has stakeholder-specific annexes that outline the key priorities and actions for each stakeholder (including brands and retailers, producers, policymakers, innovators and recyclers, NGOs and communicators).
- The Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook - this 2023 report is for communicators (so Marketing/PR/Communications managers of brands, but also influencers, journalists, etc) to redirect communication on fashion towards sustainable and circular solutions, including countering greenwashing and shifting the narrative around overconsumption and what is valued.
Our work:
- Fashion4Land side-event at UNCCD COP16, 4 December 2024, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Global Textiles Policy Dialogue
- Innovative Business Practices and Economic Models in the Textile Value Chain (InTex ) project
- Accelerating the Transition of the Indian Textile Sector towards Circularity (InTex India) project
- Circularity and Used Textile Trade Project
- Reducing uses and releases of chemicals of concern, including persistent organic pollutants (POPs), in the textiles sector
- UNEP's Textile Expert Community
- UNEP Sustainable fashion communication activities
- UNEP Circularity Platform - Textiles sector
- The United Nations Alliance for Sustainable Fashion
- Engaging the Textile Industry as a Key Sector in SAICM – A review of PFAS as a Chemical Class in the Textile Sector
