It is hard to imagine living in a world without textiles. Nearly everyone, everywhere comes into contact with them nearly all the time. This is especially true of clothing, the focus of this report. Clothes provide comfort and protection, and for many represent an important expression of individuality.

The textiles industry is also a significant sector in the global economy, providing employment for hundreds of millions around the world. These benefits notwithstanding, the way we design, produce, and use clothes has drawbacks that are becoming increasingly clear.

The textiles system operates in an almost completely linear way: large amounts of non renewable resources are extracted to produce clothes that are often used for only a short time, after which the materials are mostly sent to landfill or incinerated.

Bast fibres include flax, hemp, and jute. They are often used for shirts, dresses, and trousers, worn in warmer temperatures. Bast fibres dry quickly, are durable, absorbent, and soften as they are washed. They require small quantities of water and fertiliser to grow, and can grow on land unsuitable for food production

Production of cellulose- and protein-based fibres competes for agricultural land.The growing global population is increasing competition for productive land and freshwater resources. Cotton production currently accounts for 2.5% of the world’s arable land.

Similarly, wool has a high land impact – estimated by DEFRA to be as much as 278 hectares per tonne of fibres (compared with just over 1 hectare per tonne for cotton). The increasing demand for land for food production could significantly limit any possible expansion of land-intensive cottonor wool-related agriculture in the future and so restrict the output of these fibres.

More than USD 500 billion of value is lost every year due to clothing underutilisation and the lack of recycling. Furthermore, this take-makedispose model has numerous negative environmental and societal impacts.

For instance, total greenhouse gas emissions from textiles production, at1.2 billion tonnes annually, are more than those of all international flights and maritime shipping combined. Hazardous substances affect the health of both textile workers and wearers of clothes, and they escape into the environment. When washed, some garments release plastic microfibres, of which around half a million tonnes every year contribute to ocean pollution – 16 times more than plastic microbeads from cosmetics.

Cotton production uses 2.5% of the world’s arable land, but accounts for 16% of all pesticides used; in India 50% of all pesticides are used for cotton production, with negative impacts on farmers’ health. The Citarum River in Indonesia has over 200 textile factories along its banks; these factories release dyes and other chemicals into the water, changing the colour of the river and devastating the local ecosystem. Plastic-based fibres do not require agricultural land and use little water in production and processing. They are versatile and dry quickly after washing.

Trends point to these negative impacts rising inexorably, with the potential for catastrophic outcomes in future. This linear system is ripe for disruption. This report outlines a vision for a system that works, delivering long-term benefits – a new textiles economy based on the principles of a circular economy. It offers a direction of travel on which the industry can agree and focus its efforts. In a new textiles economy, clothes, textiles, and fibres are kept at their highest value during use and re-enter the economy afterwards, never ending up as waste. This vision is distinct from, and complements, ongoing efforts to make the textiles system more sustainable by minimising its negative impacts. With specific emphasis on innovation towards a different system, a new textiles economy presents an opportunity to deliver substantially better economic, societal, and environmental outcomes.