Unravelling the Problem of Apparel Waste in the Greater Vancouver Area
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See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323525011 Unravelling the Problem of Apparel Waste in the Greater Vancouver Area Technical Report · March 2018 DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.26792.26886 CITATIONS 0 2 authors, including: Karen Storry Metro Vancouver 1 PUBLICATION 0 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE All content following this page was uploaded by Karen Storry on 02 March 2018. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Unravelling the Problem of Apparel Waste in the Greater Vancouver Area Unravelling the Problem of Apparel Waste in the Greater Vancouver Area Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................................ I FOREWORD ........................................................................................................................................ V Better Together – The Importance of Collaboration............................................................................................ v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................................... 6 Co-Conveners .................................................................................................................................................... 6 Leverage Lab .............................................................................................................................................................6 Metro Vancouver .....................................................................................................................................................6 City of Vancouver .....................................................................................................................................................6 Vancouver Economic Commission ...........................................................................................................................7 Debrand ....................................................................................................................................................................7 EcoFashion Week .....................................................................................................................................................7 FABCYCLE ..................................................................................................................................................................7 Writers .............................................................................................................................................................. 8 Technical Writers ......................................................................................................................................................8 Editor ........................................................................................................................................................................8 Reviewers .......................................................................................................................................................... 8 Leverage Lab Collaborative for Textiles Participants ...............................................................................................8 National Zero Waste Council, Circular Economy Working Group ............................................................................9 External Experts ........................................................................................................................................................9 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 11 2 DEFINING THE PROBLEM .......................................................................................................... 14 Impacts ........................................................................................................................................................... 14 Waste Volume ....................................................................................................................................................... 14 Plastics Clothing and Microplastics ....................................................................................................................... 15 Toxic Dyes and Finishing Processes ....................................................................................................................... 16 Risks to Business Profitability of the Take-Make-Waste Model ............................................................................ 16 Lost Economic Opportunity ................................................................................................................................... 17 Regulatory Risk ...................................................................................................................................................... 17 3 ECONOMIC INSIGHTS ............................................................................................................... 19 ii Unravelling the Problem of Apparel Waste in the Greater Vancouver Area 4 CURRENT STATE OF APPAREL WASTE GENERATION AND MANAGEMENT .............................. 22 Overview ......................................................................................................................................................... 22 New Apparel ................................................................................................................................................... 24 Activity 1: Design and Manufacture ...................................................................................................................... 24 Activity 2: Sell and Purchase .................................................................................................................................. 25 Activity 3: Own and Maintain ................................................................................................................................ 27 Diverted Apparel ............................................................................................................................................. 28 Activity 4: Collect and Sort .................................................................................................................................... 28 Activity 5: Reuse and Repurpose ........................................................................................................................... 39 Activity 6: Recycle .................................................................................................................................................. 42 5 TOWARDS REDUCTION AND DIVERSION OF APPAREL WASTE ................................................. 47 What Might a Future Without Apparel Waste Look Like? ................................................................................. 47 Action Checklist ..................................................................................................................................................... 47 Places to Intervene in the Current System of Apparel Waste Generation ............................................................ 48 6 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 59 GLOSSARY......................................................................................................................................... 61 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................. 63 APPENDIX 1: THE COLLABORATIVE APPROACH ........................................................................... A1-1 How Did We Explore This Problem? ................................................................................................................... A1-1 APPENDIX 2: TABLE OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE COMPOSITION BY REGION ........................... A2-1 APPENDIX 3: REGIONAL APPAREL SYSTEMS MAP ........................................................................ A3-1 APPENDIX 4: INDUSTRY INNOVATORS ......................................................................................... A4-1 Opportunity 1 – Collaboration ...................................................................................................................... A4-1 Opportunity 2 – Investment .......................................................................................................................... A4-2 Opportunity 3 – Education ............................................................................................................................ A4-3 Opportunity 4 – Policy .................................................................................................................................. A4-5 Opportunity 5 – Business Model ................................................................................................................... A4-7 iii Unravelling the Problem of Apparel Waste in the Greater Vancouver Area iv Unravelling the Problem of Apparel Waste in the Greater Vancouver Area Foreword Better Together – The Importance of Collaboration “A diversity of opinions is likely to invite conflict, but if stakeholders are given the correct tools, participants can use the