Textile Waste: African Nations Challenge Fast Fashion’s Role in UN Project
Several African organisations, backed by experts from Europe, Asia, and America, have expressed serious concerns over the trustworthiness of data used by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in its global textile circularity initiative. They question the foundation of UNEP’s Circularity and Trade in Used Textiles project, which aims to develop policies and frameworks for sustainable textile trade and waste management.
Key Issues Raised by African and International Groups
- The groups highlight that the data supporting UNEP’s project remains largely unverified and unreliable.
- They challenge the influence given to actors described as "subservient" to fast fashion corporations.
- The signatories include organisations from Ghana, Togo, Kenya, and Pakistan, emphasizing the global impact of the issue.
- Data reliability is considered essential for distinguishing between clothes fit for second-hand resale and those that should be classified as textile waste.
Criticism of UNEP Consultation Process
The signatories criticize the recent consultation phase as hurried and biased due to reliance on questionable data. This undermines the project’s goal to identify key priorities for trade reforms, investment, and sustainable financing to foster a circular textile economy.
“Data reliability is crucial to this framework, which aims to define the boundary between garments suitable for reuse in the second-hand market and textile waste.”
These concerns underscore the need for transparent and validated data to ensure equitable and effective solutions that address both environmental and socio-economic aspects of textile waste in African nations and beyond.
Author’s summary: African organisations warn UNEP about unreliable data and fast fashion influence, calling for verified facts to shape a fair and sustainable textile circularity policy.