• textile production and consumption continue to grow and so does their impact on climate, on water and energy consumption and on the environment
• negative impacts have their roots in a linear model that is characterized by low rates of use, reuse, repair and fiber-to-fiber recycling of textiles, and that often does not put quality, durability and recyclability as priorities
• EU can become a global trailblazer in sustainable and circular textile value chains, new technological solutions and innovative business models
• consumers benefit longer from high quality affordable textiles if 
  • re-use and repair services are widely available
  • no hazardous substances are used
  • incineration and landfilling are reduced to the minimum

Requirements for Product Design

• product design is first step towards sustainable system
• better product design will lead to durability which is the key for circular business models like reuse or renting to succeed
• recycling and sorting schemes need improvement → less blended fibers
• mandatory criteria for green public procurement will be introduced
• development of criteria for safe and sustainable by design chemicals and materials will support industry to substitute as much as possible and otherwise minimize the substances of concern in textile products

Stopping the destruction of unsold or returned textiles

• Commission proposes a transparency obligation requiring large companies to publicly disclose the number of products they discard and destroy, including textiles
• bans on the destruction of unsold products, including as appropriate, unsold or returned textiles will be introduced
• digital precision technologies, could reduce the high percentage of returns of clothing bought online, encourage on-demand custom manufacturing

Tackling microplastics pollution

• one of the main sources of unintentional release of microplastics are textiles made of synthetic fibers.
• 60% of fibers used in clothing are synthetic
• 40,000 tonnes of synthetic fibers are released every year in the effluent of washing machines only
• promotion of innovative materials, washing machine filters, development of mild detergents will be introduced

Introducing information requirements and a Digital Product Passport

• accessible information on the environmental sustainability characteristics of products empowers businesses and consumers to make better choices and improves communication between actors along value chains
• The Commission will introduce a Digital Product Passport for textiles based on mandatory information requirements on circularity and other key environmental aspects.
• mandatory disclosure of information, such as sustainability and circularity parameters, products’ size and, where applicable, the country where manufacturing processes take place will be introduced

• new EU rules will ensure that consumers are provided with information at the point of sale about a commercial guarantee of durability as well as information relevant to repair, including a repairability score
• environmental claims, such as “green”, “eco-friendly”, “good for the environment”, will be allowed only if underpinned by recognised excellence in environmental performance, notably based on the EU Ecolabel, type I ecolabels, or specific EU legislation relevant to the claim
• source of growing concern is the accuracy of green claims made on using recycled plastic polymers in apparel where these polymers do not come from fibre-to-fibre recycling, but in particular from sorted PET bottles
• such a practice is not in line with the circular model for PET bottles

• making producers responsible for the waste that their products create is essential to decouple textile waste generation from the growth of the sector
• extended producer responsibility (EPR) can incentivise product design that promotes circularity throughout the material life cycle and takes account of the end of products’ life.
• plan is to create an economy for collection, sorting, reuse, preparation for reuse and recycling, as well as incentives for producers and brands to ensure that their products are designed in respect of circularity principles
• The Commission launched a dedicated study with a view to proposing mandatory targets for preparing for re-use and recycling of textile waste 

Creating the enabling conditions

Reversing the overproduction and overconsumption of clothing: driving fast fashion out of fashion

• companies should become the champions of this paradigm shift
• companies who have built their business models by capitalizing on bringing increasing numbers of fashion lines and micro collections to the market at an ever increasing pace are encouraged to integrate circularity and thus reduce the collections per year to reduce their environmental footprint
• Commission will engage with stakeholders to facilitate the scaling up of resource-efficient manufacturing processes, reuse, repair and other new circular business models in the textiles sector
• boosting social enterprises active in the reuse sector is particularly important
• Commission will develop guidance on promoting circular business models through investment, funding and other incentives
• Commission will promote this transition under the motto #ReFashionNow, putting quality, durability, longer use, repair and reuse at the core
• goal is to mobilize designers, producers, retailers, advertisers and citizens in re-defining fashion

Ensuring fair competition and compliance in a well-functioning internal market

• challenges of the global market and complex supply chains call for stronger enforcement measures to ensure consumers’ safety and a well-functioning internal market
• necessary to enable structured coordination and cooperation between national enforcement authorities and to streamline market surveillance practices
• The Commission will provide support through joint initiatives and projects48 to step up collaborations between all relevant actors

Supporting research, innovation and investments

• enhancing research and innovation and promoting investments in the sector are essential to tap into its potential to create sustainable growth and local jobs and should be a priority at EU
• The Commission will support projects that increase sustainability of fashion while meeting demands related to aesthetics and inclusivity.
• Commission is working on a common industrial technology roadmap on circularity, which aims at streamlining industrial research and innovation
• mobilizing private investment in sustainable textiles is essentialTying together a sustainable textiles value chains globally

Due diligence for environmental and social fairness

• EU was one of the largest global importers of clothing with a combined value of EUR 80 billion
• promoting greener and fairer value chains across borders and continents will ensure that textile products consumed in the EU and beyond are manufactured taking into consideration both social and environmental aspects across the globe
• textile industry has the potential to advance gender equality as it is estimated that 75% of global garment workers are women
• in the framework of the Better Work Programme, the Commission supports third partner countries in improving working conditions 
• OECD due diligence guidance for the garment and footwear sector has identified a number of common risks of serious human and labor rights violations
• proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive68, introduces a horizontal due diligence obligation for big companies to identify, prevent, mitigate, bring to an end and account for actual and potential adverse impacts on human rights
• The Commission is also preparing a new legislative initiative to effectively prohibit the placing on the EU market of products made by forced labour, including forced child labour

Addressing the challenges from the export of textile waste

• exports of textile waste outside the EU have been steadily increasing to reach 1.4 million tonnes in 2020
• to avoid that waste streams are falsely labeled as second-hand goods when exported from the EU Commission will consider the development of specific EU level criteria to make a distinction between waste and certain second-hand textile products

Conclusion

• moving towards greater sustainability of the textiles ecosystem requires deep changes in the linear way in which textile products are designed, produced, used and discarded
• The Commission invites EU institutions and bodies to endorse this Strategy and calls on Member States, the entire value chain and international partners to commit to resolute and concrete action for its implementation

Source: EU Commission (2022),"EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles" (Link)