Despite being the world’s largest purchaser of clothing, the EU has yet to take concrete steps to prevent textile waste, thereby reversing any progress towards a sustainable fashion industry, warns the environmental NGO network Zero Waste Europe (ZWE) in a document published on Thursday 27 July.
Given that the production phase has the biggest impact on the environment and greenhouse gas emissions, ZWE suggests preventing overproduction. According to these NGOs, this means setting real targets for reducing textile waste at EU level, starting with an overall reduction target of at least one third by 2040 compared to 2020, as part of the revision of the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC).
One possible indicator for waste prevention would be to measure the weight of new textile products placed on the market per inhabitant per year, according to ZWE.
While Directive 2008/98/EC obliges EU Member States to take measures to combat waste, the revision of this legislation, proposed on 5 July to involve manufacturers in the fight against textile and footwear waste, does not include textile waste prevention targets (see EUROPE 13216/3).
ZWE points out that a European citizen consumes an average of 26 kg of textiles per year, while generating 11 kg of textile waste, with negative environmental consequences beyond the EU’s borders, since the extraction and production of materials mainly takes place outside the EU and exports of textile waste pollute the soil and water in the recipient countries in the south.
In addition, ZWE points out that the EU waste treatment hierarchy established by the framework directive gives priority to waste prevention over other methods such as reuse, recycling and recovery.
Link to the ZWE document: https://aeur.eu/f/89m (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)