Why fast fashion companies push for bottom-up solutions to Singapore’s textile waste problem — and why they’re wrong
- Apr 19
- 3 min read
Article by Mukadima Gana
Every other week, a fast-fashion giant launches a new sustainability campaign. Zara now offers repair, resale and donation services (Zara, n.d.), H&M has invested in an offshore wind project to power garment factories in Bangladesh (Clancy, 2024), and there are various other initiatives meant to project a sustainable image. Yet behind the PR, Singapore still burns 206,000 tonnes of textile waste a year, with a recycling rate of just 3% (NEA, 2024).
Source: National Environment Agency, 2024
Singapore lacks large-scale textile recycling infrastructure. Most textile waste is incinerated or exported to neighbouring countries rather than recycled domestically, hastening the exhaustion of Semakau Landfill by 2035 and externalizing harm to vulnerable communities who bear the consequences of our overconsumption. While the Singapore Green Plan 2030 aims to reduce per-capita waste to landfill by 30%, textiles remain a gaping policy blind spot.
Women workers at a fast-fashion factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh (Clancy, 2024)
Brands like H&M, Zara, and SHEIN — which dominate the youth market (YouGov, 2024) — have rolled out “solutions” that make for great marketing but little systemic change. A McKinsey report found nearly two-thirds of fashion brands are behind on their 2030 decarbonization goals, with many scaling back commitments entirely (McKinsey & Company, 2025). These voluntary corporate initiatives urge consumers to “shop sustainably” while companies keep flooding the market with low-cost, short-lived clothes.
Why Bottom-Up Action Falls Short
Greenwashing cases, such as ultra-fast fashion brand SHEIN’s €1 million fine in Italy for misleading environmental claims, show how sustainability rhetoric often masks business-as-usual practices (Gayle, 2025). Brands could reduce overproduction—the root of the problem—by shifting to an on-demand business model, using deadstock and recycled fabrics, and improving factory efficiency. But without regulation, there is a lack of incentive. Voluntary measures remain vulnerable to greenwashing and ultimately insufficient to address the textile waste crisis.
Shifting Responsibilities to Corporations
A top-down regulatory approach would shift accountability from consumers to corporations. Import taxes on fast-fashion products could slow waste at its source and fund domestic recycling infrastructure. Mandatory retailer recycling targets would compel producers to manage their own waste, following the EU’s Waste Framework Directive (SafeGuardS, 2025), which requires producers to finance the collection, sorting, and recycling. Singapore already operates an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for e-waste; extending it to textiles would create a fairer, circular system ensuring producer accountability across a product’s full life cycle.
A Call for Accountability
Fast fashion companies want to define the terms of sustainability because it preserves the status quo. Notwithstanding, Singapore should not rely on corporate goodwill to drive environmental sustainability and social responsibility. Bottom-up efforts can raise awareness, but only binding policies can deliver systemic change. If fast fashion brands truly want to clean up their image, they should start by cleaning up their waste.
References
Clancy, H. (2024, January 5). H&M is funding offshore wind in Bangladesh to get garment
factories off fossil fuels. Trellis. Retrieved from
Gayle, D. (2025, August 5). Shein fined €1 m in Italy for misleading environmental claims about
products. The Guardian. Retrieved from
National Environment Agency. (n.d.). Waste statistics and overall recycling. Singapore:
Government of Singapore. Retrieved from https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/waste-management/waste-statistics-and-overall-recycling
SGS. (2025, September 23). Safeguards: EU Parliament adopts new textile waste regulations.
YouGov. (2024, November 30). On trend: The top fashion brands in Singapore 2024. Retrieved
Zara. (n.d.). About Zara Pre-Owned. Retrieved from
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