Press Release
Fashion and recycling industry labeling (QR Codes) to advance a circular economy.
Furthermore, SMART and 129 other recycling, fashion, and footwear organizations advocate for updated textile labeling requirements to promote sustainability, circularity, and authenticity. The #CutTheTape initiative benefits consumers by supplying more product information digitally. This is a crucial step towards transparency and responsible practices in the fashion and textile industries.
Additionally, label tape production generates 5.7 million miles yearly due to outdated labeling requirements. This tape could stretch from Earth to the moon and back twelve times. These inconsistent labeling requirements hinder efforts to trace materials’ origins for sustainability and circular economy support. Updating requirements is necessary to ensure consistency and promote sustainable practices.
Furthermore, digital technology solutions like QR code labels can reduce labeling waste and eliminate over 343,000 MT emissions from industry supply chains. Additionally, consumers would receive more accurate and detailed product information, while the data would help with the garment’s lifecycle, including resale, repair, rental, upcycling, or recycling. We urge the United States Federal Trade Commission and other global entities to standardize labeling requirements using digital means.
Fashion and recycling industry labeling (QR Codes) to advance a circular economy.
ACTION NEEDED: We urge government regulators to amend international, national, and local regulations to allow fully digital labeling solutions to be adopted. QR codes would make products more useful and valuable for extended periods in the circular economy while unlocking new opportunities for resale, repair, rental, upcycling, or recycling.
SMART President Steve Rees explained, “Greener e-labeling clears the way for transparency and accountability in the global textile recycling space.
QR codes will empower consumers by providing more accessible information and critical data that can strategically extend a garment’s or item’s lifecycle as it moves through the resilient reuse and recycle distribution chain.”
SMART calls on legislative leaders to take immediate action to create stringent digital labeling guidelines, which will lead to more responsible outcomes, helping the world economy and the environment. Please join our global effort and #CutTheTape.
Visit www.smartasn.org.
About SMART
SMART is a nonprofit trade association established in 1932. It promotes the interdependence of for-profit textile recycling industry segments. SMART provides a common forum for networking, education, and trade. Members of SMART convert recycled and secondary materials from various sources. These include used clothing, commercial laundries, non-woven, off-spec fabric, new mill ends, and paper worldwide. SMART member companies create thousands of jobs worldwide. They prove that being socially responsible can also be profitable.
