Lifestyle

Each year, approximately 83 mio tonnes of textile waste are produced globally – 65% of which are made from fossil-fuel derived synthetic fibres. This resource provides an accessible overview of how textile waste affects people and the environment in Africa. It also explores the global systems driving the crisis and outlines practical steps toward lasting, equitable solutions.

In 2022, The Big Plastic Count was the biggest investigation into UK household plastic waste. It showed that almost 100 billion pieces of plastic are thrown away in the UK each year, with hardly any of it recycled. With your help, we’ll gather more, game-changing evidence that will push the government to take bold action on plastic.

International fashion brands are doubling down on their use of synthetic fibres – a key driver of microplastic pollution – while employing distraction and delay tactics to protect their fast fashion business model. This report uncovers the industry’s lacklustre support for meaningful legislation and underscores the urgent need for strong action from regulators.

Many people think zero waste is just about reducing waste but it’s actually much more than that. It’s about our health, the climate and about taking care of the planet. The free online course to learn about the real solutions to plastic pollution.

Greenpeace reveals what lies beneath the green sheen and investigates self-assessed marketing labels. What is the basis of the claims that are made, how reliable are they and what do they actually cover? Can consumers take these labels at face value, and are they independently verified?

The Chinese online fashion brand SHEIN has promoted fast fashion to ultra fast fashion. It’s built on the exploitation of the environment and people, relying on the lack of enforcement of protection regulations for the environment as well as workers and consumers.

This investigation underscores the pivotal role the fashion industry plays in perpetuating fossil fuel dependency and signals a concerning lack of action to break ties with Russian oil – through which the fashion brands are indirectly funding petrochemical expansion and the war in Ukraine.

Global fashion brands are promoting circularity, but in reality that's still a myth. Nowhere is the failure of fast fashion more visible than in the countries where many of these cheap clothes end up: on huge dump sites, burnt on open fires, along riverbeds and washed out into the sea, with severe consequences for people and the planet.