In a big development for the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, the European Union’s Environment Committee MEPs have adopted recommendations for EU wide measures aimed at transforming the sector into a circular, sustainable and more socially just one.

The move has been welcomed by stocs, which supports global retailers and brands with a zero-waste circular economy solution of reuse and resale, through its demand-led global buyer data-driven network.

The EU has unveiled the most progressive set of proposed rulings for fast fashion, which will help bring about an eventual end to landfill for unsold items and address human rights in the industry to bring about fair and ethical trade practices.

Everyone concerned about these issues will think that these can’t come around soon enough

Fast fashion has come to represent the throw-away consumer society with a social and environmental footprint that not only encourages cheap labour but also contributes massively to global warming.

It is the third worst polluter globally, emitting 10% of the World’s greenhouse gasses, contributing 1.2 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

It’s not just about what goes into landfill, it’s also what comes out: the disposal of fast fashion surplus stock into landfills creates methane as garments degrade. Methane has 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide emissions, so if we want to counter global warming, tackling methane emissions must be a priority problem for us all to solve.

As a technology start-up driven mission focused on circularity, sustainability and zero waste we are encouraged and excited by these positive and progressive steps that align with our vision to revolutionize the reverse supply chain of returns and overstock management.

Over the next few weeks we will be exploring the issue in greater depth as part of a series digging deeper into the impact of fast fashion on the environment and how STOCS is supporting brands and retail enterprise to tackle the problem.

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