UNEP partners with Kenya’s Beatrice Kariuki to launch zero-waste initiative

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is creating an endeavor to create a world with no waste. In line with this approach, UNEP has teamed up with spoken word artist Beatrice Kariuki from Kenya to highlight high-impact industries where consumers can truly make a difference.

According to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, a UNEP partner, a truckload of unwanted textiles is disposed of or burned every second. According to a news statement from the UNEP, consumers are also thought to be buying 60% more clothing and wearing it for only half as long.

Kariuki said that they need circular industries where old looks are produced fresh. Less packaging, more reuse. Threads that last.

Plastic fibers are causing pollution in the oceans, wastewater, poisonous dyes, and the underpayment of labor. Although the environmental costs of fast fashion are increasing, scientists argue there is another way: a circular economy for textiles.

UNEP and the nonprofit Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) organized a panel discussion on “Circular Systems for a Net Positive Fashion Industry” at this month’s UN Climate Conference (COP27) in Egypt. The event drew representatives from the industry to discuss ways to transition the sector to a circular economy with less waste, less pollution, more reuse, and more recycling.

In order to outline a route towards being net-positive—meaning an industry that gives back more to the world than it takes out—UNEP and GFA are currently leading a consultation across the fashion industry. According to the press release, UNEP is also creating a roadmap for sustainability and circularity in the textile value chain and working to change the industry’s narrative by examining the role of consumption and providing guidelines for sustainable fashion communication.

The quick turnover, high volume, and low-price fast fashion business model is under pressure from consumers who want change. The UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion supports their desire for durable clothing produced by a sustainable economy.