First Mile has teamed up with the global sustainable fashion innovation platform, Fashion for Good, in a new pilot scheme that aims to test a key part of the infrastructure in a future circular system to tackle the issue of plastic polybag waste in the fashion industry.
Initiated by Fashion for Good, the Plastics Packaging Project, of which the Polybag Collection Scheme Pilot is a part of, aims to identify and scale potential solutions to reduce the impact and use of plastic packaging in the industry.
Supported by Fashion for Good corporate partners adidas, Kering, PVH Corp. and Stella McCartney, the pilot scheme will see First Mile collecting and recycling plastic polybags from retail stores located in central London.
These polybags are commonly used within the fashion industry to pack, transport and store garments before they are displayed in store.
The Fashion for Good pilot will test the ability to develop scalable recycling infrastructure in one key city region, where First Mile’s local support plays a crucial role, for the collection and recycling of garment polybags. These polybags will be transformed into new plastic film products, closing the loop and dramatically reducing the amount of retail plastic waste that is simply thrown away.
At the end of the three-month pilot, Fashion for Good will collate and analyse data on the viability of separate polybag collection for brands, and First Mile will report on the recycling outcomes.
Katrin Ley, Managing Director at Fashion for Good, said: “The fashion industry needs to tackle polybag packaging waste and work together to make a closed loop system a reality. This involves the sector committing to make current polybags more recyclable, supporting innovation in recycling, but crucially, focusing on systems for collection of polybags at all places that polybag waste is generated. We look forward to seeing the results of this part of the Plastics Project with First Mile.”