New EU Textiles Strategy

In the framework of the EU Green Deal and the last Circular Economy Action Plan, the European Commission has launched the EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles, that addresses the production and consumption of textiles, whilst recognising the importance of the textiles sector.

Measures include a mandatory EU extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme, ecodesign requirements for textile products, action to tackle microfibre pollution and greenwashing, and a new ‘digital product passport’.

The Strategy lays out the following forward-looking set of actions:

• set design requirements for textiles to make them last longer, easier to repair and recycle
• introduce clearer information on textiles and a digital product passport
• empower consumers and tackle greenwashing by ensuring the accuracy of companies’ green claims
• stop overproduction and overconsumption, and discourage the destruction of unsold or returned textiles
• harmonise EU Extender Producer Responsibility rules for textiles and economic incentives to make products more sustainable
• address the unintentional release of microplastics from synthetic textiles
• address the challenges from the export of textile waste adopt an EU Toolbox against counterfeiting by 2023
• publish a transition pathway by the end of 2022 – an action plan for actors in the textiles

More info: https://ec.europa.eu/environment/strategy/textiles-strategy_en