Warmer temperatures increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of heat waves, 2 which can pose health risks, particularly for young children and the elderly.'Stimulating new innovative business models will in turn create new economic growth and the job opportunities Europe will need to recover. 'Europe finds itself in an unprecedented health and economic crisis, revealing the fragility of our global supply chains,' said lead MEP Huitema. Horizon 2020 funds Resyntex, a project using chemical recycling, which could provide a circular economy business model for the textile industry.Ī more sustainable model of textile production also has the potential to boost the economy. The EU has also introduced some measures to mitigate the impact of textile waste on the environment. The EU has an EU Ecolabel that producers respecting ecological criteria can apply to items, ensuring a limited use of harmful substances and reduced water and air pollution.

The new Commission strategy also includes measures to, tackle the presence of hazardous chemicals, calls producers have to take responsibility for their products along the value chain, including when they become wasteand help consumers to choose sustainable textiles. Under the waste directive approved by the Parliament in 2018, EU countries are obliged to collect textiles separately by 2025. Parliament’s report calls for textiles to be produced respecting human, social and labour rights, as well as the environment and animal welfare.Įxisting EU measures to tackle textile waste On 1 June 2023, MEPs set out proposals for tougher EU measures to halt the excessive production and consumption of textiles. The new strategy includes new ecodesign requirements for textiles, clearer information, a Digital Product Passport and calls companies to take responsibility and act to minimise their carbon and environmental footprints. Work in progress: the EU strategy for sustainable and circular textilesĪs part of the circular economy action plan, the European Commission presented in March 2022 a new strategy to make textiles more durable, repairable, reusable and recyclable, tackle fast fashion and stimulate innovation within the sector. Reducing textile waste in the EU: what are the solutions? The new strategies to tackle this issue include developing new business models for clothing rental, designing products in a way that would make re-use and recycling easier (circular fashion), convincing consumers to buy fewer clothes of better quality (slow fashion) and generally steering consumer behaviour towards more sustainable options. The rise of fast fashion has been crucial in the increase in consumption, driven partly by social media and the industry bringing fashion trends to more consumers at a faster pace than in the past. Used clothes can be exported outside the EU, but are mostly (87%) incinerated or landfilled. Less than half of used clothes are collected for reuse or recycling, and only 1% of used clothes are recycled into new clothes, since technologies that would enable clothes to be recycled into virgin fibres are only now starting to emerge.īetween 20, clothing production doubled, while the average use of an item of clothing has decreased.Įuropeans use nearly 26 kilos of textiles and discard about 11 kilos of them every year. The way people get rid of unwanted clothes has also changed, with items being thrown away rather than donated. Textile waste in landfills and low recycling rates That means textile products consumed in the EU generated greenhouse gas emissions of 121 million tonnes. The fashion industry is estimated to be responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions – more than international flights and maritime shipping combined.Īccording to the European Environment Agency, textile purchases in the EU in 2020 generated about 270 kg of CO2 emissions per person.

Impacts of climate change infographic