While ongoing negotiations and progress on establishing EPR schemes for waste textiles are welcomed, the signatories stress the need for consistency to maximise effectiveness. Participation from all relevant operators and uniform application of the new rules are essential to prevent loopholes that could sustain the status quo.
The WFD revision offers a unique opportunity for greater harmonisation across the EU and improved sector competitiveness, particularly as the textile sorting and recycling industry faces global challenges like the war in Ukraine, logistical issues in Africa, and the rise of ultra-fast fashion, leading to oversupply and financial pressure on waste management operations. To address these, we urge a swift agreement on the proposed WFD revision and effective EPR scheme implementation.
Key requests include ensuring full accountability and a level playing field for all relevant actors involved in the EPR scheme, setting concrete targets for waste prevention, collection, reuse and recycling, defining clear end-of-waste criteria, and distinguishing between ‘used’ and ‘waste’ textiles. It is also crucial to move quickly in the negotiations to manage growing waste before mandatory collection starts in January 2025, and to implement rigorous monitoring of EPR schemes.
FEAD, EuRIC Textiles, and Decathlon urge trilogue negotiators to consider these requests and swiftly agree on the proposed targeted revision of the WFD, establishing well-functioning EPR schemes that incentivise investments in infrastructure and enhance traceability of discarded textiles. We remain committed to collaborating with policymakers to achieve Europe’s climate neutrality goals and advance sustainability and circularity in the textiles sector.
Claudia Mensi, FEAD President, reminded that ‘from the 5 million tonnes of clothing that is discarded each year in the EU, only 1% is recycled back into new clothing. This means that textile recycling is today an environmental imperative and an economic opportunity, for which industry and policymakers must work together to improve the status quo’.
Julia Ettinger, EuRIC’s Secretary General stated: “Today, the priority is not just improving and scaling up textile sorting and recycling in Europe but also protecting and sustaining existing infrastructure. European companies, vital to making circularity a reality, urgently need support, and efficient EPR schemes are critical to achieving this.”
Emilie Mauffet, Decathlon’s Sustainability Director, stated: “With the Waste Framework Directive revision, European policymakers have a unique opportunity to boost the development of an innovative and efficient textile waste industry. All actors in the textile ecosystem must work together to close the loop and go circular; smartly designed extended producer responsibility schemes can help us to achieve this goal.”
