Waste

Six major fashion companies failing to reduce environmental impact

What’s Going On Here? Major UK retailers are failing to deliver on environment according to a report by the UK government Environmental Audit Committee. Six companies were reported to have failed to take action in reducing their carbon, water and waste footprints. Name ’em and shame ’em Ok then. Amazon UK, Sports Direct, TK Maxx, JD Sports, BooHoo and Missguided. NONE of them have signed up to the Sustainable Clothing…

Backlash against ‘Fast Fashion’ enters a new season

What’s Going On? Fashion Revolution Week – part of a global movement which campaigns for reform in the way our clothes are sourced, produced and consumed – kicked off on Monday in the Houses of Parliament with Fashion Question Time. Politicians, academics, activists and fashion industry experts are discussing the most important issues in the fashion industry. Arguably the most pressing of all…

100% Green Apple? The bigger picture

What’s Going On Here? Apple has announced that 100% of their operations are powered by renewable energy, this includes shops, offices and the biiiiig old servers where they hold all that data on us. ???? But this tasty Apple news comes at a time when e-waste (laptops, mobile phones and electronic goods) are the world’s fastest growing waste problem. In 2016 the…

Blockchain start-up tackling global food waste

What’s Going On Here? A blockchain start-up, INS Ecosystem, has announced its ambitious intentions to reinvent the food industry. It aims to decentralise the grocery market by connecting producers directly to consumers using blockchain technology. What Does This Mean? One problem is waste. Supermarkets are built around avoiding stock shortages, not avoiding waste. This means that in countries like the UK retailers oversupply and waste…

UK government announces plans for plastic bottle & can deposit scheme

What’s Going On Here? On Tuesday the UK government announced that it is implementing a drinks bottle and can deposit scheme, in which consumers pay more for single-use drinking vessels but can recoup that money. In theory, consumers would put bottles and cans in ‘Reverse Vending Machines’ in supermarkets and receive their deposit back, forming a tighter closed-loop recycling process What Does This…

Fast Fashion: The Hidden Cost of Cheap Clothing

What’s Going On Here? Every year over 150 billion items of clothing are manufactured. The demand for cheap clothes is killing the environment and the people that live ​around the factories that produce them. It’s not just flared jeans and budgie-smugglers that cause a problem. What Does This Mean? Cheap and ‘fast fashion’ causes tight turnarounds. Some factories follow the rules, whilst others take…