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clothing, an annual 500,000 tons of microfibers ends up in oceans
worldwide, which is an equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles.
Finally, the huge increase in clothing production and consumption
and its decreasing reuse lead to a growing waste mountain.
About 85% of all clothing we buy is discarded annually. In the
Netherlands, 305.1 kilotons of clothing and other textiles, such as
towels and sheets, get discarded; in 2018, 44.6% was collected
separately via thrift stores and textile collection containers. The
rest is usually incinerated. The wearable share of these separately
collected textiles finds its way to the second-hand market (about
53%); the non-wearable share gets recycled (33%) or ends up in the
waste incinerator (about 14%). With some exceptions, the market
is not yet able to turn non-wearable textile into a viable circular
business case. Mounting societal pressure to improve the clothing
industry’s environmental and social performance has compelled
a variety of initiatives both in the Netherlands and internationally.
The Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Garments and Textile in an
International Context
In mid-2016, several dozen organisations signed the Dutch
Agreement on Sustainable Garments and Textile. 31 This Agreement
addresses the labour conditions and environmental impacts of
the clothing industry in more than 5,800 production locations,
many of which are in developing countries. Its aim is to promote
international responsible business conduct in the textile and
clothing supply chain.
For the implementation of the Agreement, companies, trade associations,
trade unions, NGOs and governments work together
under the leadership of an independent chair. The Social and
Economic Council of the Netherlands serves as the secretariat,
gives advice and assesses the companies annually. It checks
whether plans of action are in accordance with OECD guidelines
for multinational enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles for
31 Multi-stakeholder group, Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Garment and
Textile, Social and Economic Council, The Hague, June 2016.