
The Netherlands, Germany, and the UK are sounding urgent alarms about the impending collapse of the European textile sorting business, which is in charge of separating used textiles for recycling and reuse according to EuRIC, a confederation representing the interests of the European recycling industries at EU level. This situation will worsen if nothing is done right now, resulting in permanent harm to the environment and the economy.
Legislative gaps, rising costs, and fierce competition are endangering the circular economy and rich resources of recyclable textiles. Due to a decline in global sales of used clothing and a lack of viable business models for recycling, abandoned textiles and unsold second-hand apparel pose a threat to be recycled or repurposed and may wind up in an incinerator.
Mariska Boer, the President of EuRIC’s Textiles Branch, stated, ”The prospect of incineration becoming the only remaining option if sorting discarded textiles becomes financially unviable is deeply alarming. All industry efforts to create a sustainable textile value chain in a circular economy would be in vain when textiles can no longer be collected and sorted in Europe. When second-hand clothing can no longer be supplied to countries that depend on it, this will have a massive economic impact both locally and within the EU.”
In order to keep the continent’s textile reuse and recycling industry from collapsing, EuRIC has continuously demanded immediate action from the entire EU. In order to stimulate demand for recycled materials, encourage sustainable practices, and ensure the viability of the textile recycling industry, swift action should be taken to implement supportive EPR schemes under the revised Waste Framework Directive (WFD). Additionally, green public procurement measures, mandatory recycled content in textile products, and the introduction of recyclability criteria through the ecodesign regulation (ESPR) are crucial.