Ellen MacArthur Foundation
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About Sustaining Voices

Sourcing Journal’s Sustaining Voices celebrates the efforts the apparel industry is making toward securing a more environmentally responsible future through creative innovations, scalable solutions and forward-thinking initiatives that are spinning intent into action.

Overview

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is uniting brands, retailers, nonprofits and governments to attack plastics pollution at the source.

The number of principles or targets to be addressed by signatories
16

The number of principles or targets to be addressed by signatories

The percentage of greenhouse-gas reductions signatories plan to achive by 2030
30

The percentage of greenhouse-gas reductions signatories plan to achive by 2030

The net amount of emissions signatories have pledged to collectively achieve by 2050
0

The net amount of emissions signatories have pledged to collectively achieve by 2050

Deep Dive

When it comes to championing the circular economy, where materials are reclaimed, recirculated and recycled instead of becoming fodder for the landfill, few organizations have been as dogged and unwavering in their dedication as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the eponymous charity founded by retired English sailor Ellen MacArthur in 2009.

Single-use plastics, used for a fleeting amount of time but persisting in the environment for a thousand years, have no place in this future reality. Which is why in Oct. 2018, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation joined forces with the United Nations Environmental Programme to launch the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, a “line in the sand” that has rallied nearly 400 brands, retailers, plastics producers, financial institutions, nonprofits and governments to pledge to eradicate plastic waste “at the source” and create a “new normal” for plastic packaging.

The need for such an initiative, which is the only one of its kind, could not be more urgent, according to Sander Defruyt, New Plastics Economy lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Eight million metric tons of plastics are dumped into the world’s waterways annually. By 2050, the oceans could have more plastic than fish.

“Plastics are one of the most clear examples of our current wasteful linear economy, where we take finite resources out of the ground and use them to make products that are often designed to be used for just a short while before being thrown away,” Defruyt said. “We launched the New Plastics Economy to help create a better system, which can deliver benefits for businesses, society and the environment, and can work in the long term.”

Signatories of the pact, which include clothing purveyors such as Burberry, Stella McCartney, H&M and Zara owner Inditex, have pledged to increase the recycled content of their packaging from a current global average of 2 percent to up to 25 percent by 2025. An upcoming report, Defruyt said, will not only see signatories report on their progress but also create “unprecedented transparency and consistency in data” across a significant swath of stakeholders.

“We cannot address global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity collapse, waste and pollution through clean-up efforts and recycling alone,” he added. “We need to create a circular economy for plastic where it does not become waste in the first place.


In what areas has the fashion industry made the biggest strides in sustainability in the last five years?

“In recent years, we have seen clothing rental and resale surging in popularity, alongside business models that incorporate elements of subscription, repair and maintenance. With these new models, clothes are being used for longer and saved from landfill or incineration. According to the latest report from online preowned clothing retailer ThredUp, the resale market has grown 21 times faster than the retail apparel market over the past three years, and it’s expected to double in five years to become a $51 billion market. Rental models are booming, too—Rent the Runway, which launched in 2009, is now a $1 billion company.

With alternative business models initially the domain of startups, we are now seeing established companies engaging in new ways of doing business. For example, The North Face and H&M have launched repair and resale initiatives in their businesses. Urban Outfitters and American Eagle have both launched rental services with a monthly subscription. As customers are looking for new ways to access clothing, business models are adapting.”


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