For more than a decade, I have been following EU legislative policy—from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to the very first sustainability requirements for the textiles sector. I am German, but I have lived and worked in the Netherlands for the past nine years. During that time, I have learned Dutch, worked with global companies, and observed how different contexts shape the sustainability agenda.
This perspective comes with a caveat: what follows is a European reflection. But it is a timely one, because for the first time, the textiles industry faces comprehensive legislation. Until now, companies only dealt with REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), the textile labelling regulation, and the General Product Safety Regulation for hard goods. That era is ending.
And it is fascinating to see how two neighbouring countries respond so differently to this wave of rules. Germany and the Netherlands may be close in geography and language, but their business and policy debates could not be further apart.
Germany: Framed as Bureaucracy
At the recent Sustainability Summit of the Textilwirtschaft in Hamburg, Germany, the conversation was dominated by supply chain due diligence. Both the German Supply Chain Act (LkSG) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) were repeatedly described as bürokratiemonster – bureaucratic nightmares.
This framing risks missing the point. Due diligence is not about paperwork; it is about holding businesses accountable for their impact on people and nature. Yes, implementation takes effort. But isn’t that part of a company’s responsibility?
A cultural dynamic plays into this too. In Germany, there is little space for “trying and adjusting.” The default is to wait until everything is perfect before acting. This perfectionism shows up in the pushback around the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the Omnibus package. Stakeholders argue the rules create too much bureaucracy and will never be right from the start. The result: hesitation instead of experimentation.
Netherlands: Pragmatism First
The contrast in the Netherlands was striking. Here, at the Circular Textile Days in 's-Hertogenbosch the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) was front and centre. And rightly so—ESPR will reshape how textile products are designed, marketed, and sold in Europe.
What stood out was the pragmatic approach. Dutch businesses are more comfortable with uncertainty, and more willing to share both successes and failures. Pilot projects that didn’t work are discussed just as openly as those that did. This openness reflects a cultural comfort with iteration: trying, learning, and adjusting along the way.
But discussions sometimes remain at a surface level. Buzzwords like “repairability, recyclability, durability” dominate. What often gets missed are the practical questions: How will these requirements be measured? How will they be verified? How will they be enforced across such a fragmented industry?
