European Union

Textiles are one of the biggest sources of PFAS pollution in Europe though their use in most types of textiles is not a technical necessity, says a briefing by the European Environment Agency as it warns that PFAS in textiles can be a barrier to their longer use, reuse and recyclability, negatively influencing the sector’s shift to a more circular economy.

The textile waste crisis calls for a well-coordinated multilevel approach between exporting and importing countries, and a mix of measures that engage all authorities and stakeholders concerned with local environmental and social issues, says a new report.

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), flagship initiatives of the Green Deal and Europe’s circular economy objectives, which sets requirements for sustainable products, was adopted by the European Council Monday.

There is significant room for improvement in separate collection systems for waste textiles in EU-27 with about 11.6kg per person of textile waste ending up in mixed household waste.

A fund dedicated to supporting decarbonisation projects and climate change mitigation actions in outdoor industry supply chains will assist Taiwan in an ambitious renewable energy project.

A paper by Zero Waste Europe has emphasised the urgent need to phase out hazardous chemicals and tackle the release of microplastics, outlining a vision where textile recycling is not just a niche activity but a cornerstone of the industry.

The European Union will implement a two-year postponement of sector-specific standards for non-EU companies to allow for more time to apply for the first batch of standards and prepare for the next ones.

In a positive step forward, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have, in overwhelming majority, approved the Green Claims Directive that would entail companies to submit evidence about their environmental marketing claims.

Even as the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles seeks to stop the destruction of unsold and returned textiles, a new study has found that the volume of textiles and textile products destroyed in Europe can be as high as 594,000 tones every year, with lower range estimates pegged at 264,000 tonnes.

The European Commission and national consumer protection authorities of 22 Member States, Norway and Iceland have released the results of a screening (“sweep”) of social media posts from influencers which found that only one in five systematically indicated that their content was advertising.