(Image courtesy of Texintel)
By the Texintel Editorial Team
The European Union’s proposed changes to Directive 2008/98/EC, also known as the Waste Framework Directive (WFD), highlight the pressing need to address the mounting issues around textile waste and its environmental impact.
The proposal is part of the wider European Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan, aiming to accelerate the transition towards a sustainable and circular economy.
Textile waste in the EU has increased considerably due to “fast fashion” trends. The emphasis on frequent, lower-priced collections encourages consumers to buy more, creating a surge in waste. Even more concerning, a study by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) found in 2019 alone, textile waste, including clothing, footwear, and home and technical textiles, amassed to 12.6 million tons. This equates to a staggering 12kg per person, per year.
Currently, around 78% of post-consumer textile waste ends up either incinerated or in landfills, demonstrating a significant deviation from the EU’s waste management principles encapsulated in the waste hierarchy. This resource-inefficient waste management causes excessive greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and land pollution.
From the start of 2025, a new obligation for the separate collection of textiles will be implemented under the WFD. However, it is anticipated that current collection systems and recycling infrastructures will struggle to manage the expected increase in waste.
The textile sector is not only resource-intensive but also transnational in its impacts.
A large proportion of the environmental pressure created by the EU’s textile consumption occurs abroad. It is estimated that, to produce the textiles consumed by the EU in 2020, 80% of primary raw materials, 88% of water, 92% of land used, and 73% of GHG emissions occurred outside the EU.
In an attempt to mitigate these impacts, the proposal aims to ensure the costs of textile waste management are factored into the price of new items. At present, the costs of collection and management are not internalized, leading to significant environmental and social ramifications.
Significant hurdles persist due to the varying definitions of textiles and textile waste across member states.
This fragmentation causes administrative burdens and poses barriers to cross-border shipments, hampering the expansion of the recycling industry and disrupting the single market.
The proposal aims to improve textile waste management aligning with the “waste hierarchy,” prioritizing waste prevention, preparation for re-use, and recycling of textiles over disposal. The broader goal is to escalate EU and Member State actions to prevent textile waste and promote the circularity of textiles, accelerating progress towards a sustainable, circular economy.
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