British fashion designer Stella McCartney is backing a campaign to reduce waste across the fashion industry.

She has teamed up with environmental campaigner Ellen MacArthur, calling for a circular textile economy to be created to make fashion more sustainable.

A new report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation reveals the equivalent of one rubbish truck of textiles is wasted every second, with an estimated $500 billion (£376bn) value lost every year due to clothing that’s barely worn and rarely recycled.

It warns the fashion industry will use up a quarter of the world’s carbon budget by 2050 if nothing changes.

The sector is also polluting, with clothes releasing half a million tonnes of microfibres into the ocean every year – equivalent to more than 50 billion plastic bottles.

In a circular textile economy, clothes would be designed to last longer, be worn more and easily rented, resold and recycled and would not release toxins or pollution.

Ms McCartney said: “What really excited me about ‘A new textiles economy: Redesigning fashion’s future’ is that it provides solutions to an industry that is incredibly wasteful and harmful to the environment.

“The report presents a roadmap for us to create better business and a better environment. It opens up the conversation that will allow us to find a way to work together to better our industry, for the future of fashion and for the future of the planet.”

The report has gained support from organisations including H&M, Nike and C&A Foundation.