Digital technology solutions—such as QR code labels—would reduce labeling waste and eliminate at least 343,000 MT of emissions from industry supply chains while providing consumers with more detailed and accurate product information. The data would also aid in the garment’s lifecycle, by providing details about resale, repair, rental, upcycling, or recycling. SMART has urged the United States Federal Trade Commission and other entities worldwide to use digital means to standardize labeling requirements.
Fashion and recycling industries around the globe have joined forces to demand unified digital labeling (QR codes) to advance a circular economy. The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART), a US-based international non-profit trade association, has joined 130 global recycling, fashion, and footwear organizations in demanding legislative entities modernize textile labeling requirements.
The move would advance sustainability, circularity, and authenticity solutions in the fashion and textile recycling industries. #CutTheTape benefits consumers by providing more product information using digital means, SMART said in a press release.
Each year, approximately 5.7 million miles (about 9.2 million km) of labeling tape are produced, which is long enough to stretch from the earth to the moon and back twelve times. Labeling requirements have not been updated since the 1960s. Current outdated labeling requirements are inconsistent and hinder efforts to trace the origins of materials to be more sustainable and support a circular economy.
The association has also asked 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 longer periods in the circular economy while unlocking new opportunities for resale, repair, rental, upcycling, or recycling.
130 global recycling companies demand QR codes in textile labelling
