A Brussels-based recycling trade association has urged the European Commission to introduce mandatory recycled content requirements for textile products as part of the implementation of the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), according to a position paper published this week.
Recycling Europe Textiles, the textile reuse and recycling division of the broader Recycling Europe federation, has called on the Commission to embed compulsory recycled material targets within future ecodesign rules, signalling a push to strengthen circularity in the EU textile sector. The proposal aims to ensure that garments and other textile products placed on the European market contain a defined proportion of recycled material, advancing sustainability goals and reducing reliance on virgin resources.
In its new position paper on the delegated act for textile requirements under the ESPR, the association presented its views on how the regulation could best promote a more robust circular economy. The Brussels-based trade body represents the interests of commercial recycling companies operating across the EU and advocates for policy frameworks that support expanded reuse, sorting and recycling of post-consumer textiles.
Industry stakeholders have increasingly highlighted the need for stronger regulatory measures to tackle the growing volume of textile waste in the EU, which is estimated in other EU analyses to amount to millions of tonnes annually and for which less than 1% is recycled into new products.
Recycling Europe Textiles has previously emphasised that without mandatory recycled content targets, ecodesign rules could fall short of driving the large-scale market demand for recyclates needed to underpin a genuine circular textile economy. Its intervention builds on broader EU efforts to strengthen sustainability standards across product categories and aligns with ongoing revisions to related waste-and-product legislation aimed at increasing producer responsibility and reducing waste.
The Commission is expected to consider feedback from stakeholders, including industry associations and environmental groups, as it finalises the delegated act setting textile requirements under the ESPR. The proposal will help shape the regulatory landscape governing product design, recycled content and environmental performance for textiles sold within the EU single market.
