Toronto, Ontario
Plastics are widely used in the fashion industry, with synthetic textiles like polyester and nylon contributing to waste and pollution. Unsustainable practices and mismanagement lead to textile and plastic waste ending up in our landfills and plastic pollution in our communities, rivers, lakes, and oceans. Synthetic textiles also pollute the environment by shedding small plastic pieces, called microfibres, during regular wear and tear and through laundry.
Today, the Honourable Nate Erskine-Smith, Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities and Member of Parliament for Beaches-East York, and Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources and Member of Parliament for Toronto-Danforth, re-announced on behalf of the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, $662,161 in funding for the Fashion Takes Action's project to mobilize experts, industry, non-profit organizations, and Canadians, through the newly established Canadian Circular Textiles Consortium. This forum will connect sector-relevant experts and key players-including manufacturers, retailers, recyclers, and end users from across Canada-to collaborate, share information, and discuss projects related to circular textiles.
The Canadian Circular Textiles Consortium supports policy design, development of standards for circularity, and improvement of education outreach, among other things. As part of this project, Fashion Takes Action will also conduct research on textile waste from industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities, as well as research into fabric-scrap textile waste, which will include a collection and sorting pilot project in the Greater Toronto Area. All in all, this project will help reduce duplication of resources and foster partnerships among stakeholders who share a vision of a new circular textile economy for Canada.
In 2024, the Government of Canada invested over $3.3 million in funding to support Canadian organizations that are developing innovative and targeted solutions to address plastic waste and pollution.
This project is part of the Government of Canada's comprehensive plan to reduce plastic waste and pollution and move toward a circular economy across the plastics lifecycle through a range of complementary actions.
