On Thursday, 1 June, the European Parliament—by a vote of 600 to 17 with 16 abstentions—came down in favour of [introducing] legally binding EU legislative measures to put an end to ‘fast fashion’, trading it for textiles that are sustainable throughout their life cycle, in line with a truly circular economy.
In order to ensure that textiles sold in the EU are produced in a way that is circular, sustainable, and socially just and to put an end to the production and excessive consumption of textiles, it has taken up the own-initiative report by Delara Burkhardt (S&D, German) as adopted in the Committee on the Environment (see EUROPE 13171/8).
The adopted resolution defines the European Parliament’s position on the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles by 2030, which was presented in March 2022 (see EUROPE 12922/2).
The European Parliament is notably calling for a ban on destroying unsold and returned textile goods; for binding targets with regard to preventing, collecting, reusing, and recycling textile waste; and for clear rules to put an end to ‘greenwashing’ practices and to minimise microplastics being released into the environment.
It wants the revision of the Waste Framework Directive to include separate specific targets for the prevention, collection, reuse, and recycling of textile waste as well as a phaseout of its disposal in landfills.
“The EU must legally oblige manufacturers and large fashion companies to operate more sustainably. People and the planet are more important than the textile industry’s profits”, commented Ms Burkhardt.
On the eve of the vote, MEPs had commemorated the 10th anniversary of the deadly collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh and emphasised, as President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola had done, that the EU has a responsibility to “own up to the consequences of putting consumer preferences for abundance and affordability ahead of moderation and sustainability”.
See the report: https://aeur.eu/f/76s (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)