Repair works. Policy lags.

New data from the European Environment Agency gives repair a striking result: 95 percent of the textiles brought to participating European Repair Cafés in 2025 could be repaired.

The figure suggests that many garments discarded or brought in for help are not at the end of their useful life. They may need a new zip, a repaired seam, a button or another relatively limited intervention before they can be used again.

Yet repair often remains a minor part of textile policy. Extended producer responsibility systems are largely discussed in terms of collection, sorting and recycling capacity. Repair is frequently recognised as desirable, but it receives less attention in funding structures, targets and public reporting.

That creates a mismatch between policy and practical results. Material recycling can require complex infrastructure and may still produce residues, while a successful repair preserves the product and much of the value already invested in it.

The EEA data does not show that every discarded garment can be saved, nor does it measure the full cost of each repair. But a 95 percent success rate raises a clear question for governments and producer responsibility organisations.

If repair performs this well in practice, why is it still treated as a side activity rather than a central part of Europe’s textile strategy?