Sustainable regulation as driver for transformation in fashion industry

Abstract

The world is changing incrementally, exacerbating planetary boundaries (Rockström et al., 2009) and, as such, current lifestyles. Environmental pollution is gaining problematic levels, and the textile industry is considered one of the main culprits. The textile supply chain creates different types of waste and scrap that belong not only to the semi-finished product but also to the goods needed in the production stages (Nayak, R. 2019).The textile production process is known to consume resources, once considered unlimited, such as 'water, which now needs to be totally recovered and treated, fuel from fossil resources and a variety of chemicals on a large scale. Industry estimates show that more than 35 percent of chemicals released into the environment are the result of various textile treatment and dyeing processes (Thiry 2011). In the Italian landscape there are many examples of companies operating in the textile sector, where we find the closed cycle of production wastewater.The urgency of transitioning to circular and sustainable models has led governments to dwell on the role of textile companies with regard to sustainability, noting that they do not seem to be reforming at a pace and scale that would considerably combat environmental and climate change. The question that arises concerns the emergence of a number of new regulatory proposals and how they will impact within textile companies. Although most of the newer proposals are still a long way from becoming law, some regulations require textile companies to review the way they produce and communicate the nature of their products, involving EU manufacturers, importers, and retailers in the round.As part of the Circular Economy Action Plan, in March 2022, the EU published the "Sustainable Textiles Strategy 2030," which focuses on circularity of textiles and making brands responsible for waste sent to landfills (Digital Agenda Eu. 2022) and aims to make textiles more durable, repairable, reusable and recyclable. It also pledges to combat fast fashion and unsold textiles and ensure that they are produced with respect for social rights.The European Commission has made its regulatory proposals official, including the proposed Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, or Espr, which establishes a framework for improving product circularity.Thus, the role of design becomes critical for a more rational use of resources in the development of new products (Thorpe, 2007; Fletcher & Grose, 2012; Fletcher, 2014), which should be designed in a way that reduces waste, scrap, pollutants, and pollution, reaching the zero-waste goal. The treatment of this issue poses two different studies from the outset because the complexities between waste and waste generation in pre-consumption and post-consumption are different.If it is true that rules and standards are the lever of transformation the designer will have to come up with a new design process in compliance with the standard but producing innovation and making sustainability a tangible value in the value chain of the semi-finished or finished product.