The fashion industry is among the biggest polluters on the planet. The sector accounts for more than one-tenth of the total plastic pollution in the world.
But wait — what does plastic have to do with fashion?
Well, 70% of all clothes contain plastics, as they are made from synthetic materials like polyester or acrylic.
On top of that, fashion pollution takes up nearly 2% of global crude oil production. And the kicker — the fashion industry produces 10% (at minimum) of all global carbon emissions.
As a result, it can hardly come as a surprise that governments around the world are noticing. For this, they are making new laws aimed at combating the unsustainable nature of the fashion industry. In this article, we will look at upcoming/recently introduced fashion sustainability regulations. Then, in another section, we will look at how hemp textiles can help the fashion industry meet those regulations.
Table of contents
Through the course of this article, you will learn the following things.
- 5 new fashion sustainability regulations
- How hemp textiles can meet these regulations
- The benefits of hemp textiles over other fabrics
- How hemp plants help the environment
And now, without any further ado, let us get right into it.
5 new fashion sustainability regulations
Here are five new fashion sustainability regulations. Hemp textiles already meet these regulations, without (m)any changes.
This just shows how versatile hemp textiles can be in meeting fashion sustainability regulations.
- The EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles
The CSTS calls for all textiles to be durable, easy to repair, and recyclable by 2030. It targets reducing waste and the use of harmful materials in textiles.
It was actually talked about for more than half a decade before being approved recently. Experts estimate that it will be in full force before the end of next year.
- The EU’s The ecodesign and energy labelling working plan 2022-2024
This regulation sets standards to lower the environmental impact of textiles. It focuses on using sustainable materials and innovative designs. It bans the destruction of unsold textiles to reduce waste and encourages the recycling and reuse of materials.
Also, along these lines is the Waste Framework Directive.
The WFD was introduced with one goal: to reduce overall textile waste. In the fashion industry, it aims to reduce landfill waste, water waste, and carbon emissions. It was enacted some years ago, but there was no clear enforcement or non-compliance penalty.
This is set to change though, with the WFD coming up for discussion in the EU parliament again soon.
This initiative provides digital tags for textile products. These tags offer detailed information about the product’s origin, materials, and environmental impact.
This transparency helps you make more informed purchasing decisions and supports sustainable practices.
- Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
A yearly report will have to outline (in numbers), the environmental impact of the company. Also, each and every company will have to file this report.
Things like carbon emissions, water use, and supply chain emissions will be considered. It aims to make companies more transparent about how they operate and affect their surroundings.
This helps investors, customers, and regulators understand and assess a company’s sustainability efforts.
Similar to the CSRD is the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive.
This one asks companies to identify, prevent, and reduce their negative impacts on human rights. It also seeks to improve the environment across their operations and supply chains.
The difference is between the focus of both directives. The CSRD looks at the impact of the finished product, and the CSDDD looks at the impact on those who make the product.
- EU Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition
This directive updates rules to combat greenwashing by making companies prove their environmental claims.
It provides criteria for assessing these claims and encourages the use of reliable eco-labels. The directive also aims to help promote products produced by marginalized communities (globally).
This helps you trust the sustainability claims you see on products.
And now that we have covered the five fashion sustainability regulations. Next, it is time to take a look at how hemp textiles can make a difference.
How hemp textiles can meet these regulations
- Hemp and Circular and Sustainable Textile Strategy
Hemp textiles are highly durable. They can last more than three times longer than their cotton counterparts. Hemp supports the strategy’s goal for textile products to be more durable, repairable, and recyclable.
Hemp’s natural resistance to mold, UV light, and mildew extends the lifespan of products.
Additionally, hemp has no environmental fallout as polyester and other synthetics do. Lastly, even the cultivation process is beneficial to the environment and doesn’t cause any harm.
- Hemp and Ecodesign Regulation
Hemp requires less water and fewer pesticides compared to conventional textiles like cotton. This difference is very stark actually: Hemp requires only 50% of the amount of water that cotton does.
On top of that, hemp gives about 800% more usable product per hectare than cotton. Even when compared with flax (linen), hemp uses 10% less water and yields 600% more product.
Lastly, for the WFDA, hemp breaks down easily. This helps the directive’s goal to manage waste better.
Hemp textiles recycle or compost easily, reducing landfill waste.
Even if hemp textile products do end up in landfills, they are biodegradable. Any trace of a hemp product having existed will disappear within six months anyway, so not a huge deal.
- Hemp and Digital Product Passport
It is relatively easy to trace hemp textiles supply chains. All we have to do is add a QR code at every process level. As it is, hemp textiles do not need to be overly processed before they become a finished product.
As a result, hemp textiles can easily be adapted to comply with the EU DPP scheme.
Moreover, most people who cultivate hemp (like at the Ukhi foundation) also spin the yarn and make the fabric.
Whereas with cotton, the farming, transport, spinning, and milling all take place at different points.
- Hemp and Corporate sustainability reporting and CSDD Directives
Companies that use hemp textiles will naturally be able to report lower environmental impacts. Hemp is a very eco-friendly plant, and has a net positive environmental impact.
Thus, the companies that are hemp-exclusive will barely have any regulatory headaches to worry about.
We will outline more in the next section about the benefits of hemp textiles and plants.
- Hemp and Empowering Consumers to Green Transition Directive
Using hemp allows companies to make honest sustainability claims. Hemp is biodegradable and lowers the carbon footprint, leading to clearer, truthful communication to you.
Case in point: India. In India, hemp cultivation has only recently been legalized. In the state of Uttaranchal, the womenfolk of tribes grow food for their families while the menfolk go to nearby cities to find work. With a booming hemp economy, this trend of migration has been reversed, and ‘ghost villages’ are becoming lively thriving villages again.
Thus, hemp textiles provide a source of income for the remote tribes who otherwise would not have regular income.
And next, we’ll cover some other benefits of hemp textiles that were not made clear from the section above.
The benefits of hemp textiles over other fabrics
- Hemp fabric ages well
We’ve all been there — that one t-shirt that we really like has become little more than a rag. But we can’t seem to get rid of it because it’s our favorite.
With hemp clothing, this problem doesn’t exist. You see, hemp ages really, really well. As the clothes get older, they sort of mold themselves to the shape of your body. And as we have established above, hemp clothing is very tough. Thus, it lasts for years,and only gets more comfortable as it ages.
And as an additional plus, hemp clothing retains dyes much better than any other garment.
- Hemp fabrics are good at insulation and wicking
Hemp clothing is made from hemp fibers. These come from the stalk of the hemp plant, and they have a rather unique property about them. You see, the stalks of the hemp plant are hollow.
Long story short, hemp clothing is great at keeping you cool in summer. But, on the flip side, it retains body heat well in winter as well.
So, it keeps you cool in summer, warm in winter — can it do anything else? Actually, yes.
Remember that feeling on a hot summer day of your shirt clinging to your back? It’s an uncomfortable position to be in, to be sure. But with hemp clothing, that’ll never be an issue. Because of the hollow nature of the stalks, hemp clothing is also very good at something called “moisture wicking”.
It takes the moisture (perspiration) from your body, and helps it evaporate easily, ensuring that you remain not only cool, but also dry.
- Hemp fabrics are completely biodegradable
And lastly, hemp clothing, hemp products in general really, are all 100% biodegradable. As long as no one mixes them in a polyester-hemp blend that is. However, no one would be silly enough to try that.
Hemp can return to the earth in anywhere from three weeks to six months.
Now, six months sounds like a lot, but compared to the 200 years it takes polyester, that’s a downright miracle.
As a result, hemp clothing is biodegradable, just like pure linen is — only better.
Now, we’ve spoken about hemp textiles, but now we come to the hemp plants themselves. Do they have any other benefits, like for the environment? The answer is a resounding yes.
How hemp plants help the environment
- Hemp plants absorb carbon
I’ll keep this brief — cotton emits about five tonnes of carbon for every hectare that it is planted. Flax (linen) plants are much better — they absorb two to four tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere per hectare.
Thus, flax is the greener, more impressive choice, right? Correct — until you take a look at hemp plants.
Hemp can absorb around twenty-two tonnes of carbon per hectare from the atmosphere.
- Hemp plants are phytoremediators
Phytoremediation is a process where a plant helps to clean the soil of heavy metals. Hemp plants have proven especially efficient at removing two of the worst offenders — lead and cadmium.
Thus, not only do hemp plants sequester carbon, but they also clean the soil they are a part of.
On a semi-related note, hemp plants also restore nitrogen to the soil they grow in. Conversely, cotton and flax both need additional nitrogen (fertilizer) just to survive.
As a polar opposite, hemp can replenish nitrogen, to the tune of about 40 kilogrammes per hectare.
- Hemp can be planted twice a year
And lastly, hemp plants can grow to full size in just 100 days. Compare that with cotton and flax, which can only be planted once a year. And also, flax can only be planted in the same field once every six years.
This is because of the nutrients it drains from the soil. So, all the benefits of hemp that I listed above? You can get them twice a year, because hemp has two growing seasons. Granted, the second yield might be worse than the first, but I feel my point stands.
And with that, we come to the end of this article on hemp textiles and fashion sustainability regulations. I hope you found it useful, and I’ll see you in the next one.