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MPs call for introduction of new levy on clothing retailers

The Environmental Audit Committee has called for the introduction of a new levy on so-called ‘fast fashion’ clothing retailers.

The Committee wants to make clothing retailers ‘take responsibility’ for the waste that is generated during the process of making new clothes.

It has suggested that each item of clothing retailers create should be subject to a 1p ‘producer responsibility charge’, termed the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) charge. The Committee believes that this will help pay for ‘better clothing collection and recycling’.

The Committee also stated that taxation should be reformed to ‘reward companies that offer clothing repairs’, and also reward those who attempt to reduce the ‘environmental footprint’ of their products. Additionally, the Committee urged the government to ‘reduce VAT on repair services’.

Commenting on the issue, Mary Creagh, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, said: ‘Fashion retailers must take responsibility for the clothes they produce. That means asking producers to consider and pay for the end-of-life process for their products through a new EPR scheme.

‘The government must act to end the era of throwaway fashion by incentivising companies that offer sustainable designs and repair services.’