EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles
Updated on 24.06.2024
The strategy aims to create a greener, more sustainable, and innovative textile sector with extended producer responsibility. This approach ensures consumers benefit from high-quality, affordable textiles for longer periods. Additionally, economically profitable re-use and repair services will be widely available. Textile products will be free of hazardous substances and produced in a manner that respects social rights and the environment.
Key objectives and (or) targets related to cities & regions
To achieve more durable and sustainable textiles in Europe, the Strategy aims to implement the following actions:
- Design requirements for longer-lasting textiles;
- Digital product passports;
- Tackling greenwashing by ensuring the accuracy of green claims;
- Stopping overproduction and overconsumption;
- Harmonising producer responsibility rules for textiles and economic incentives;
- Addressing microplastic release from synthetic textiles;
- Tackling textile waste challenges and counterfeiting.
On a regional level, trade agreements will need to be established with various regions (in line with EU objectives) to increase transparency and sustainability in the global trade of textile waste and used textiles.
Regarding support for research, innovation, and investment, the textile ecosystem can benefit from opportunities provided by the European Regional Development Fund. This fund supports regional transformation and makes funding available for research and innovation, digitalisation, SME competitiveness, skills development, digital connectivity, circular product design, and production processes, promoting sustainable growth and job creation on a regional level.
The Strategy also aims to ensure fair competition and compliance within a well-functioning internal textile market. Given the complexity of textile supply chains and the prevalence of online purchases, enhanced enforcement measures are needed to ensure consumer safety. This is typically done through market surveillance at the national level in Member States. The Commission plans to support and streamline this process across Member States. Additionally, they intend to collaborate with local law enforcement authorities (e.g. customs, police, and market surveillance authorities) to combat IP infringements.
Voluntary sustainability labels covering environmental or social aspects must rely on third-party verification or be established by public authorities. As part of ecodesign principles, the Commission will introduce mandatory criteria for green public procurement, defined following an impact assessment. This will include requirements regarding Member States’ incentives for textile products, which will also be of interest to public authorities at the local level.
Examples of how it was adopted/transposed by Member States
The ‘Reset the Trend’ campaign (https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/circular-economy/reset-trend_en) is a European initiative which encourages consumers to abandon fast fashion and adopt more sustainable fashion practices. It highlights sustainable fashion achievements from different Member States. On the legislative side, shortly after the publication of the strategy, France introduced a decree on consumer information of quality and environmental characteristics of waste generating products. This decree aims to increase transparency on product sustainability with enforced environmental labelling. For the fashion industry, this means that large (and later on small) clothing brands must make sure to have such a label by January 2023. Source: Décret n° 2022-748 du 29 avril 2022 relatif à l'information du consommateur sur les qualités et caractéristiques environnementales des produits générateurs de déchets - Légifrance (legifrance.gouv.fr).
e.g. commercial, residential, service, industrial
