Textiles and the Circular Economy: Upcoming regulatory changes in the European Union

The European Commission adopted its new Circular Economy Action Plan (COM/2020/98 final) in March 2020.  The plan – which is one of the first deliverables under the European Green Deal (COM/2019/640 final) – lays out more in detail the specific policy measures to be taken by the European Union in the transition towards circular economic systems, including their indicative timelines.   

It identifies seven "Key Product Value Chains" that will be central to European regulation, namely:   

• Electronics and ICT  
• Batteries and vehicles  
• Packaging   
• Plastics  
• Textiles  
• Construction and buildings   
• Food, water and nutrients   

Textiles, footwear and clothing pose intensive environmental challenges in terms of resource use, land use, greenhouse gas emissions, and water pollution. As the Ellen MacArthur foundation shows, less than 1% of clothing fibers are fully recycled,  while a further 12% are downcycled in some way. This means that the bulk of the production is going to landfill or incineration. Additionally, 12% of the fibers for clothing production are lost during the production process.  

While demand in the sector is projected to continue growing, recycling technologies and their industrial uptake are lagging behind.   

 As most of the value chains for textiles marketed in Europe (and their associated environmental impacts) are to be found outside the EU, European regulations are of great interest for producers in exporting countries.    

The first quarter of 2022 will see the announcement by the Commission of two key files in this respect:   

The EU Strategy for Textiles will detail the Union's approach to the textile sector, and set out further specific legislation to be adopted or amended. It is possible that some of the legislation proposals will not be published at this stage, but the Strategy will indicate what direction the Commission will be going towards.  

 The Sustainable Products Initiative will propose several legislative changes seeking to bring the EU product policy framework in line with the EU's environmental ambitions. The main change will be the amendment of the existing Ecodesign Directive (Directive 2009/125/EC). While the current Ecodesign Directive only applies to energy-related products (domestic appliances, for instance), its scope will be extended to other product categories, including textiles.  

Final adoption of new or amending legislation will still require the agreement of both the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, which will have the opportunity to propose their own changes to the Commission's draft acts. As the European Union rolls out its Circular Economy Action Plan, it is becoming one of the international actors seeking to enhance circularity in textiles through changes in legislation. Given that Europe is the main importer of textiles in the world, this bears substantial implications for producers in other countries.  

Source: Textiles in Europe's Circular Economy 

Last update: 2021-12-14