Face au plastique, la paralysie de la mode

The report finds that most major fashion brands are increasing their reliance on synthetic fibres while using 'smoke screen' tactics—such as voluntary industry initiatives and shifting responsibility to consumers—to avoid meaningful regulation and reduction of plastic pollution.

• The fashion industry's reliance on synthetic fibres is increasing, with these materials representing 69% of textile production, a figure projected to reach 73% by 2030.
• An assessment of 50 global brands reveals a significant lack of transparency and a trend toward increased synthetic use; 54% of companies failed to respond fully to the survey, and nearly half of those who did respond increased their use of synthetic materials since 2021.
• Specific brands show high levels of synthetic fibre dependency: Shein has the highest percentage at 82%, while Inditex reported the highest volume at 212,886 tonnes in 2023.
• The report identifies 'delay tactics' used by the industry, including exaggerating scientific uncertainty regarding microplastics and relying on voluntary initiatives like The Microfibre Consortium (TMC) to avoid binding regulation.
• Many brands use 'downcycling'—converting plastic bottles into polyester clothing—as a primary strategy, which the report argues is misleading because it disrupts bottle-to-bottle recycling and does not solve microplastic pollution.
• There is minimal industry support for strong regulation; only 22% of responding companies supported all proposed measures regarding the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles and the global plastic pollution treaty.

APA

Trunk, U., Urbancic, N., & Nguyen, A. (2024). Face au plastique, la paralysie de la mode. Changing Markets Foundation. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/French-Executive-Summary-Fashion-Plastic-Paralysis.pdf

Chicago

Trunk, Urska, Nusa Urbancic, and Amy Nguyen. Face au plastique, la paralysie de la mode. Changing Markets Foundation, 2024. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/French-Executive-Summary-Fashion-Plastic-Paralysis.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Trunk |first1=Urska |last2=Urbancic |first2=Nusa |last3=Nguyen |first3=Amy |title=Face au plastique, la paralysie de la mode |publisher=Changing Markets Foundation |date=September 2024 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/French-Executive-Summary-Fashion-Plastic-Paralysis.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{trunk2024face, author = {Trunk, Urska and Urbancic, Nusa and Nguyen, Amy}, title = {{Face au plastique, la paralysie de la mode}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/French-Executive-Summary-Fashion-Plastic-Paralysis.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }