In June 2023, MEPs published proposals for tougher EU measures to stop overproduction and consumption of textiles. The parliament’s report calls for textiles to be produced with respect for human, social and labour rights, the environment and animal welfare.
EU efforts to combat textile waste
In the EU, there is an EU eco-label that producers who comply with environmental standards can affix to their products, raising awareness of products that contain less harmful substances and cause less water and air pollution.
The Waste Directive was approved by Parliament in 2018. The Commission’s strategy also includes measures to address the presence of hazardous chemicals, requires producers to take responsibility for their products throughout the value chain, including when they become waste, and aims to empower consumers to choose sustainable textile products.
Parliament has proposed changes to the textile waste regulation in March 2024. The amendments to the Waste Directive will introduce an extended producer responsibility regime. In practice, this means that producers of textile products such as clothing, shoes, hats and accessories, as well as other companies that place such products on the European single market, will have to cover the costs of separate collection, sorting and recycling.
The European Commission proposed that the extended producer responsibility system should be in place 30 months after the Directive comes into force, but MEPs insisted on 18 months. Furthermore, to prepare for reuse and recycling, EU countries will be required to collect textiles separately for reuse by 1 January 2025.
“We call for textile waste reduction targets, including monitoring of exported used textile products,” said MEP Anna Zalewska (ECR, Poland), who is responsible for shepherding the regulation in parliament. She also called for improved infrastructure for separate collection of textiles and more efficient sorting of municipal waste, so that recyclable items are removed before being sent to incinerators or landfills.
Next steps
Negotiations with the Council will be carried out by the next European Parliament, to be elected in the European Parliamentary elections from 6-9 June 2024.
