Learn more about the upcoming legislation towards an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles. Or about what you as a textile company must do to be part of a sustainable economy. A new legislation that the European parliament voted in favour for as late as mid-March 2024.
In 2023, the EU proposed the EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) for textiles. Legislation that to be enforced within a couple of years. The EPR states that textile companies, as well as fashion brands, are fully responsible for the entire lifecycle of textiles.
The EPR also includes a ban on the destruction of unsold or returned textiles. And a requirement to separate textile waste collection from other types of waste.
The EU Waste Framework Directive will also be updated to halt the export of textile waste. Textile waste to non-OECD countries will only be allowed under certain strict conditions.
The framework
The EPR is in part built on the EU Waste Framework Directive. This directive establishes the basic concepts and definitions related to waste management. It includes the definitions of waste, recycling, and recovery.
The EPR for textiles is part of the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles and the EU Green Deal.
Key points for the EPR
- Textile companies, as well as fashion brands will be fully responsible for the entire lifecycle of textiles.
- A first step towards holding producers accountable for the products they place on the market.
- Mandatory separating (sorting) in the collection of all discarded textile from mixed municipal waste. By this, meeting the mandatory collection requirement under the EU Waste Framework Directive.
- Promoting investments in the infrastructure for collected textiles and garments to be sorted and prepared for reuse and recycling.
- Promoting the research and development of innovative technologies that render textiles more circular.
- Fighting illegal export of textile waste to countries badly equipped to manage.
- Creating a greener and more competitive textile and fashion business – more resistant to global event impact.
Links where you can find out more about the EPR
The EU proposal to make producers responsible for the full lifecycle of textile products.
What ETP’s Lutz Walter says about the possibilities of the EPR.
What the Ellen MacArthur foundation says about the EPR.
Article from Portolano Cavallo on the EPR.
Read more about the EU Waste Framework Directive.
See a YouTube Euratex webinar on “How to promote sustainability through innovation in the textile ecosystem”.
Read more from ACTE, about the Whys of a better textile waste management.