Trying to reduce environmental impact, among many positive actions, the company joins a consortium with aim to reduce the impact of plastic microfibers from clothing. It seems that sustainability in fashion is just at the beginning, but it has a huge potential for further improvements.
Image: Gary Perkin / Shutterstock Asda has joined a consortium aiming to reduce the impact of plastic microfibres from clothing polluting the environment. The move makes it the first supermarket to join the European Outdoor Group’s Microfibre Consortium, which hopes to help understand and reduce microfibre shedding – this is when tiny plastic particles are washed off clothes and carried away, often ending up in the world’s oceans where they are ingested by wildlife. Asda, which is the second biggest clothing retailer by volume in the UK, has already removed 2,500 tonnes of plastic from its own-brand packaging this year. Laura Babbs, Sustainability Manager at Asda, said: “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. “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.”
