Experts unite for sustainable clothing initiative

Europe – Eight special advisors have joined the advisory group of the European Clothing Action Plan (ECAP), an EU-Life funded project designed to drive sustainability throughout the entire lifecycle of clothing.

Representing various disciplines from design through to manufacture and recycling, the eight recruits include Alan Wheeler who is director of the UK’s Textile Recycling Association and also general delegate of the BIR world recycling organisation’s textiles division.

The ECAP project is looking to adopt a holistic approach encompassing sustainable design, production, consumption, public procurement, collection and recycling through to reprocessing in a bid to reduce waste and to bring about effective waste recovery in the clothing supply chain.

The advisory group will offer guidance to partner organisations and will act as ambassadors for ECAP in helping to forge new partnerships with stakeholders and businesses within participating countries. In addition to Wheeler, the other special advisors are: Baptiste Carriere-Pradal of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition; Jef Wintermans of the Sociaal-Economische Raad in the Netherlands; Juergen Janssen of the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles in Germany; Laila Petrie of WWF International; Mauro Scalia of Euratex in Belgium; Professor Rebecca Earley of the University of the Arts London; and Sigrid Barnekow of Mistra Future Fashion in Sweden.

According to Leigh Mapledoram of WRAP in the UK, the organisation overseeing the project, the advisors’ involvement ‘will be invaluable in expanding ECAP’s reach’ and in helping the project to achieve ‘its ambitious goal of making European clothing more sustainable – from point of production to end of life’.