Posted on February, 20 2009

A new WWF standard for low carbon clothing manufacturing features prominently at the London Fashion Show today, as the UK government releases its Sustainable Clothing Action Plan.

The standard, developed by WWF Hong Kong for a major clothing producing area in South China and endorsed by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), helps producers and retailers of fashion reduce their carbon footprints and is a major step towards low carbon clothing.

“Ninety per cent of UK clothing is imported, and so as part of the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan Defra is encouraging participants to explore links with WWF Hong Kong’s Low Carbon Manufacturing Programme”, said Lord Hunt, UK Minister of State for Sustainable Development and Energy Innovation.

“This uses a labelling system to help buyers identify clothes that create fewer emissions in the Pearl River Delta region. I am pleased that this international effort is taking place to make clothing less environmentally damaging."

The LCMP provides manufacturers in the heavily industrialized region with a carbon accounting and labelling system which includes a standard approach to measure and analyse the carbon performance of their factories.

Using WWF’s exclusive software and checklists, factories learn to manage their carbon emissions and apply innovative technologies to reduce them.

The LCMP rewards successful implementation and continuous improvement with a certified label issued by WWF. The labelling system makes the leading manufacturers visible and gives them a competitive edge, while helping buyers to differentiate between clean and dirty practices in the market when choosing their suppliers in the Pearl River Delta region.

“Green is the color of this fashion season”, said Karen Ho, Business Engagement Leader at WWF Hong Kong.

“Low carbon clothing meets a demand among progressive retailers and conscious consumers in the UK, while bringing economic benefits for factories in China due to gains in energy efficiency and huge cost savings. This is exactly what you need to go green and fight a recession.”