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T E X T I L E I N D U S T R Y N E W S O N R E U S E , R E C Y C L I N G A N D C I R C U L A R I T Y

Europe wanted a circular textile economy. Instead it is drowning in clothes.

Europe is collecting more clothes than ever before. New rules are tightening how textiles are exported, destroyed and handled after use. The goal is to reduce waste and build a circular textile economy. But together these changes may also be creating a new problem: the policies meant to manage Europe’s clothing surplus are now putting the system that handles it under strain.

FULL STORY HERE

Europe is collecting more clothes than ever before. New rules are tightening how textiles are exported, destroyed and handled after use. The goal is to reduce waste and build a circular textile economy. But together these changes may also be creating a new problem: the policies meant to manage Europe’s clothing surplus are now putting the system that handles it under strain.

FULL STORY HERE

Is the EU regulating textile waste, without knowing what happens to it?

Over the past few years, EU textile policy has expanded rapidly. Separate collection of textiles is being introduced across member states. Controls on exports of used clothing are tightening. New rules on unsold goods are being prepared. And additional reporting requirements are now under discussion.

Together, these measures are designed to build a more circular textile system.

But they are also being applied to a system that is still only partly visible.

EU starts adjusting textile rules as system pressure becomes visible

What happens to fashion’s unsold clothes? No one really knows...

Last week, the European Commission opened a consultation on its proposed “Environmental Omnibus”, a package aimed at simplifying parts of EU environmental legislation, including rules affecting textiles and circular systems. On paper, the initiative is about reducing administrative burden. In practice, it signals a growing need to make existing rules operational. The system is becoming harder to operate.

Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of unsold clothes are destroyed in Europe every year – and no one really knows what happens to them before that.

Around 20% of garments don’t sell in their first cycle, but most are eventually resold. What remains is a smaller, largely invisible share that fails to find a market at all. Now, the EU is banning destruction. The question is: where will these clothes go – and can the system absorb them?

WATCH NOW

The elusive truth behind the second-hand export debate | Part 1

The amazing story about the mountains of textile waste in Ghana. Mountains that doesn´t exist, but nevertheless have been broadcasted all around the world as a major problem. Unfortunately these claims has also influenced policymakers and politicians within the EU, which has led to new regulations that actually threatens the circular system of clothes.