The Nordic Countries Want More Sustainable Clothing Consumption

The Nordic countries need to draw consumers’ attention to the waste of resources within the fashion industry. More must be done to raise awareness of the Nordic Swan Ecolabel for clothing, textiles, and leather. At its theme session, the Nordic Council decided to take action against the industry’s greenwashing and misleading marketing. The decision was initiated by the Nordic Youth Council and supported by the Centre Group.

Despite a strong self-image as a sustainable region, the Nordic countries are among the world’s largest consumers of clothing. The fashion industry is identified as one of the major climate offenders, characterised by rapid production, short product lifespans, and large amounts of textile waste.

Every year, enormous quantities of textiles are incinerated in Europe or sent to poorer countries, where they end up in landfills, while consumption continues to increase.

“If everyone lived like we do, we would need about four Earths,” said Oda Indgaard of Norway during the debate on the committee proposal for a greener textile industry at the Nordic Council’s theme session in Oslo.

The proposal presented to the session by the Committee for a Sustainable Nordic Region emphasises that the solution is not only about buying less, but also about improving quality and making sustainable choices easier. The Nordic Swan Ecolabel is highlighted as an important Nordic tool, but awareness of the label for textiles remains low among both producers and consumers.

At the same time, political measures are being called for to address problems throughout the entire system. Oda Indgaard again:

“This will not be solved by ‘shaming’ consumers – we need clear rules, with tougher action against misleading marketing and low-quality imported goods.”

In addition to consumers needing to know what they are buying in order to make informed choices, consumption must also become more sustainable in other ways. The goal is to make repair, reuse, and quality more attractive than a throwaway culture. Through joint Nordic efforts, the Nordic Swan Ecolabel must be strengthened as a standard and research into textile reuse increased – as a first step away from today’s waste of resources in the textile industry.

The proposal debated and adopted by the Nordic Council was originally put forward by the Nordic Youth Council.

“We want to see responsible, resource-efficient consumption supported by the Nordic Swan Ecolabel. We are very pleased with the broad support from the committee for our proposal,” says Lone Sandvik Kristiansen of the Nordic Youth Council.

Photo: Oda Indgaard and Lone Sandvik Kristiansen.