Denmark, Sweden and France have called for textile waste to be subjected to the control mechanisms of the Basel Convention.
- By following the approach taken to regulate electronic waste under the Basel Convention, this would mean 1) requiring prior informed consent to be obtained for the import and export of textile waste, and 2) banning the export of hazardous textile waste (e.g. stained with chemicals or paint) altogether.
- The call was made Monday by Magnus Heunicke, Minister of Environment of Denmark; Romina Pourmokhtari, Minister for Climate and the Environment of Sweden; and, Christophe Béchu, Minister for the Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion of France.
THE STATEMENT: The three ministers said: “We believe this approach could bring about significant environmental and health benefits in developing countries without impairing second-hand clothing tracks, and be a way for the EU to show global leadership and responsibility in alignment with the EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles and in the framework of the ongoing negotiation of the treaty to end plastic pollution. The initiative would also provide more data on what types of textiles are exported and where they end up.
- “We call on our EU colleagues to support our proposal. The current practice and level of textile waste exports are not sustainable. There is a need for us as the EU to take responsibility, show leadership and introduce clear and effective global restrictions to tackle this pollution. Let’s act now.”
THE CONTEXT: Sweden, France and Denmark have been implementing national policies and initiatives to enhance the sector’s sustainability.
- At the EU level, the recent adoption of the corporate sustainability due diligence directive will provide a first response to these challenges by setting obligations for large companies regarding actual and potential adverse impacts on human rights and the environment for the value chain of their activities, including in the textile sector.
- The ongoing targeted revision of the waste framework directive gives another opportunity to reinforce textile waste processing and recycling within the EU.
- However, the import and export of waste are regulated at the global level under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.
- The Basel Convention does not currently require an exporter to obtain prior informed consent from the importing state when exporting textile waste, which is the case for other highly problematic waste streams like household waste, plastic waste and electronic waste.
- There is also no requirement to ensure that the importing country has the capacity to manage the textile waste in an environmentally sound manner.
