Integrating Plastic Leakage into Product Footprints

Colleagues from Quantis and EA will discuss the Plastic Leak Project, Plastic Footprint Network and SPHERE methodologies, which provide an inventory-level approach to quantify plastic leakage and integrating it in a multi-indicator framework to support companies in making ecodesign decisions. Further, several case studies will be present about the integration of the microfiber inventory or impact quantification into the Apparel and Footwear PEFCR and a recent paper on plastic leakage in the textile industry which will be published in Nature Communications earlier this year.

Article on the plastic leakage from the global apparel industry abstract:

Plastic pollution is a global environmental threat with potentially irreversible impacts on aquatic life, ecosystems, and human health. This study is a comprehensive assessment of the global apparel industry's contribution to plastic pollution. It includes plastic leakage of packaging and end-of-life apparel waste in addition to fiber emissions during apparel production and use. We estimate that the apparel industry generated 8.3 [4.8 – 12.3] million tons (Mt) of plastic pollution in 2019, corresponding to 14% [5.5% – 30%] of the estimated 60 Mt from all sectors. In this study, we demonstrate that the main source of plastic pollution from the apparel supply chain is synthetic clothing as mismanaged waste either in the country of its original use or in the countries receiving used apparel exports. A fundamental transformation of the apparel economy towards a circular framework and decreased synthetic apparel consumption is needed to tackle apparel-related plastic pollution.