With 600 votes in support, the European Parliament endorsed guidelines for the EU strategy for environmentally friendly and circular textiles.
According to the text, textiles sold in the EU should be stronger, reused, repaired, and recycled more easily. Throughout the whole supply chain, their production should respect human, social, and labour rights as well as environmental protection and animal welfare. Additionally, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) want ‘fast fashion’ to be eradicated through national and EU policies.
In the future modification of the ecodesign law, the parliament demands a prohibition on the destruction of unsold and returned textile products, arguing that consumers should have more information to make sustainable decisions. The ongoing legislative work on engaging consumers in the green transition and regulating green claims is only two examples of how MEPs seek clear standards to prohibit producers from ‘greenwashing.’
Additionally, MEPs urge the Waste Framework Directive modification to contain distinct goals for textile waste avoidance, collection, reuse, and recycling. They compel the Commission to immediately begin the initiative to stop and reduce the release of microplastics and microfibers into the environment.
On 30th March 2022, the Commission unveiled the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, which aims to alter the way that the EU manufactures and consumes textiles by addressing the entire lifespan of textile goods. The new circular economy action plan, the industrial strategy for the textiles industry, and the European Green Deal’s obligations are all intended to be put into practise.
