LONDON – The Institution of Mechanical Engineers an influential UK-based association, which has over 120,000 members in 140 countries, has called on the textile sector to clean up its act through today’s release of a new 8-page briefing that calls for UK government intervention – in partnership with industry – to develop new solutions to problems such as textile microfibre pollution, the creation of excessive waste and the reduction in the carbon footprint of the apparel sector.
Aurelie Hulse, lead author of Engineering Out Fashion Waste, said: “We need to build on existing industry initiatives and fundamentally rethink the way clothes are manufactured, right down to the fibres that are used. Garments should be created so they don’t fall apart at the seams and so that they can be recycled after they have been worn for many years. Fabrics should be designed not to shed microfibres when washed and industry needs look at how efficiencies can be made in the cutting process, which currently sees 60bn m2 of cut-off material discarded on factory floors each year.”
