“Fast fashion”, whereby linear (take-make-use-dispose) supply chains churn out garments modelled on the latest trends, has exacted a heavy toll on natural resources. According to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, a truckload of abandoned textiles is dumped in landfill or incinerated every second. Meanwhile, it is estimated that people are buying 60 per cent more clothes and wearing them for half as long.
In the Mediterranean region, textile and clothing is a priority sector employing thousands, including women, and making significant contributions to national incomes. Fundamental changes are being introduced to make the sector sustainable, including through circular approaches that stem the flow of waste.
To mark the first edition of International Day of Zero Waste, here are three ways in which the UNEP/MAP Regional Activity Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production MedWaves is working with the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, partners and stakeholders to make zero-waste fashion a reality in the Mediterranean:
1. Complementing the regulatory framework with implementation tools
The UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention system recognizes the leading role that sustainability-minded businesses play in decoupling economic growth from the destruction of nature. In 2016 the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention adopted the Regional Action Plan on Sustainable Consumption and Production in the Mediterranean. This marked a crucial step in charting a common course towards the application of circular approaches in the region.
At COP 22 (Antalya, Türkiye, 7-10 December 2021) the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention adopted a set of regional measures to o support green and circular businesses and stimulate demand for sustainable products in the Mediterranean. MedWaves continues to distil the state-of-the-art and international best practices into sustainable and circular business guides that stakeholders in the Mediterranean region can use.
2. Weaving sustainability into the fashion industry’s fabric
In the publication titled “Circular business opportunities in the South Mediterranean: how can businesses lead the way to sustainable fashion?”, an analysis of value chains and product life cycles leads to the identification of five strategies for a transition to a circular economy in the southern Mediterranean fashion industry.
SwitchMed, a regional initiative dedicated to sustainable consumption and production, and the WeMed Award, established as a flagship initiative of the Mediterranean Strategy on Sustainable Development (MSSD), are also planting the seeds of circularity in the fashion business ecosystem (both are implemented by MedWaves and supported by the European Union). In November 2021 the WeMedAward went to four fashion business entrepreneurs whom the jury recognized for walking the talk on sustainability.
In November 2023 the first Euro-Mediterranean Week for Waste Reduction will target the textile sector by promoting sustainable consumption and production and showcase solutions optimizing resource efficiency and minimizing impact on the environment.
3. Standing up for green fashion entrepreneurs
Under the UNEP/MAP programme of Work for (2022-2023), close to 4 million euros have been invested into advocacy, capacity building and networking aimed at textile and clothing enterprises in ten Mediterranean countries. This work also involved public sector entities, local authorities, academic and research institutions.
Drawing on Open Innovation strategies, 29 sustainability challenges leveraging solutions offered by start-ups and “green disruption” entrepreneurs have been undertaken in the region. These challenges connect demand for sustainable products and services with supply by eco-innovative entrepreneurs. MedWaves is also leading “STAND UP!”, a 3.7 million euros project funded by the European Union under the ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme, with tools that help beneficiaries embrace circularity, including pursuits in the fashion business.
250 small- and medium-sized enterprises operating in the fashion business around the Mediterranean have benefited from the delivery of the various UNEP/MAP-MedWaves work streams on circularity in the clothing and textile sector. In the course of the 2022-2023 biennium, 225 ideation-stage entrepreneurs (with women representing 74 per cent) have received business-model-building support. Currently, 60 start-ups and SMEs are benefitting from advanced incubation and acceleration services.
Learn more:
The environmental costs of fast fashion (a story from the UNEP global website)
