Asda to combat microplastics in clothing

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jul 19, 2018

Asda and its clothing brand George have joined the European Outdoor Group’s Microfibre Consortium to understand and reduce the impact of microfibres in clothing, which can find their way into the ocean and eventually poison the food chain.

The announcement is significant as the supermarket is, through its clothing brand, the second biggest clothing retailer by volume in the UK.

The movement against microfibers in clothing has been gaining ground of late, raising awareness of the thousands of microplastic particles that are released into waste water and eventually into the environment during each wash.

Earlier this year, Asda committed to reduce its use of plastic across its business as part of its Plastic Unwrapped strategy and has since then, removed 2,500 tonnes from its own-brand packaging.

“Asda has been working to reduce the impact its products have on the environment for many years, such as voluntarily banning microbeads from our products and helping our suppliers reduce their carbon footprint through our Sustain and Save Exchange,” said Laura Babbs, sustainability manager at Asda.

“The microfibre issue is complex and currently lacks a comprehensive research base, so it’s the right thing to do to work with other companies and share best practice that will allow us to make an industry-wide impact.”

Katy Stevens, sustainability project manager at the European Outdoor Group, added: “This is a real industry wide challenge but we believe through the work of the consortium we can achieve an in depth understanding of the causes of microfibres and develop targeted solutions across the whole garment lifecycle.”