Canada ’s environmental department is prioritizing the issue of plastic waste from the apparel and textile industry—and it’s turning to the public for feedback as it charts the path forward.
Woolmark Adds New Stamp of Approval for Recycled Wool
The Honorable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, on Thursday initiated a consultation document on plastic waste and pollution stemming from the apparel and textile industries. The text asks individuals, the industry, government representatives, environmental groups and other stakeholders to provide written comment and contribute to the plan to address the issue. Open until Sept. 1, the consultation will solicit ideas to help shape a scheme that could include government, industry, academic and society actions.
“After welcoming the world last April in Ottawa for the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, we are more committed than ever to ending plastic waste and pollution in our own country,” Guilbeault said. “We are now reflecting on how we can prevent textile and apparel waste from going to landfill, being incinerated or leaking into the environment as pollution.”
Following the comment period, the Canadian government will create a “roadmap” to divert textiles from landfills and keep them in circulation for the longest time possible. The plan could have applications covering household waste, industrial and commercial waste and laundry machine guidelines. To be drafted later this year, the framework is slated to be implemented five years after it is published.
In the consultation document, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), an environmental branch of the government similar to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), identifies potential paths that this action plan could take. Incentivizing repair, developing recycling infrastructure and capacity, developing takeback schemes and creating standards for microfiber shedding in textile design are among the channels highlighted for textile waste. It will also identify which entity is best positioned to apply the outlined solutions.
Synthetic materials like polyester, acrylic and nylon now represent about 54 percent of global fiber production today. In 2020, more than 290,000 metric tons of plastic textiles were created for consumption in Canada, per Statistics Canada, and 280,000 metric tons of synthetic textiles were discarded the same year—creating the fifth largest plastic waste stream. Roughly 98 percent of Canada’s synthetic textile waste lands in landfills.
Canada’s Council of Ministers of the Environment, an intergovernmental forum that meets at least once a year, published a Canada-wide Action Plan (CAP) for Extended Producer Responsibility ( EPR ) in 2009. It listed textiles among the phase-two product categories that jurisdictions should create EPR programs for within eight years of CAP adoption. Some cities have already created programs to keep clothing out of landfills; for instance, Markham in Ontario banned the disposal of textiles in curbside trash and set up donation bins with charities. However, the consultation document notes, “The federal and provincial government levels have taken very limited targeted prevention, diversion or recovery risk management actions for plastic waste and pollution from the textile and apparel sector at this time.”
A Canadian Rail Strike Could Spur an Inventory Glut for Apparel Brands
In addition to garments and textiles languishing in landfills, synthetic garments contribute to microplastic pollution as small fibers shed during wearing and laundering.
Through its Canadian Plastics Innovation Challenges, the national government has given grants to small- and medium-sized companies to develop solutions for textile waste and microfibers. Recipients have included Singular Solutions Inc., which created an additive that makes textile waste biodegradable in compost facilities.
Other areas of focus have been research on microfiber mitigation techniques and waste diversion as well as data collection. For example, this April, Canada implemented a Federal Plastics Registry that will require companies to report on the plastic they produce, import and sell to inform activities and measure progress toward its 2030 zero plastic waste target. In the phased rollout, mandatory reporting for the textile industry would start in 2026.
The textile plastic waste consultation comes on the heels of Canada’s legislation clamping down on greenwashing, indicating the emphasis the country is placing on sustainability and transparency.
As it focuses on curbing textile waste, Canada is in good company. Last year, the European Union proposed compulsory extended producer responsibility for the industry as part of its EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. And California is weighing the Responsible Textile Recovery Act , which would be the first-of-its-kind EPR legislation in the U.S.
“Addressing plastic waste and pollution in all sectors of our economy is the key to protecting the planet and creating a greener and prosperous future, while keeping plastics in the economy and out of the environment,” said Guilbeault.
Canada's New Greenwashing Law Stands to Impact US Brands
Most Popular
Comments / 0