Today, members of the European Parliament overwhelmingly voted 514-20 in favor of implementing a series of measures designed to address waste in the textiles and food industries. These measures include mandates for fashion brands and textile producers to cover the costs associated with collecting and recycling clothing and footwear. Additionally, binding targets for reducing food waste across EU member states have been established.
This vote signifies the adoption of Parliament’s stance on the European Commission’s proposed overhaul of the Waste Framework, introduced in July 2023. The objective of this revision is to mitigate the environmental and climate impacts stemming from the textiles and food sectors, both identified as major contributors to resource depletion and environmental harm.
As per the Commission’s data, the European Union generates approximately 12.6 million tonnes of textile waste annually, which encompasses 5.2 million tonnes of clothing and footwear. However, only 22% of post-consumer textile waste undergoes separate collection for reuse or recycling, while the remaining portion is often disposed of in landfills or incinerated. Furthermore, nearly 59 million tonnes of food are wasted within the EU each year, equating to an estimated market value of €132 billion.
In its proposal, the Commission highlighted the exacerbating influence of fast fashion on textile waste generation. This phenomenon introduces low-cost products into the market that fail to account for environmental externalities in their pricing, consequently encouraging heightened levels of clothing consumption. The newly proposed regulations, endorsed by Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), extend the scope of producer responsibility (EPR) schemes—currently utilized for managing waste from packaging, batteries, and electric and electronic equipment—to include textiles. This expansion necessitates producers to assume responsibility for covering the expenses associated with the separate collection, sorting, and recycling of textiles. Covered products span a wide range, encompassing clothing, accessories, bedding, curtains, hats, footwear, mattresses, and carpets, as well as items incorporating textile-related materials such as leather, composition leather, rubber, or plastic.
The text adopted by MEPs also bolsters the Commission’s food waste proposals, mandating that member states implement targets for reducing waste by 20% in food processing and manufacturing by 2030, and by 40% per capita in retail, restaurants, food services, and households. This stands in contrast to the Commission’s original proposals for 10% and 30% reductions, respectively. Additionally, MEPs have called for the Commission to explore the feasibility of implementing targets of 30% and 50%, respectively, by the year 2035.
Anna Zalewska, the Rapporteur for Parliament, remarked:
“Parliament has come up with targeted solutions to reduce food waste, such as promoting “ugly” fruits and veggies, keeping an eye on unfair market practices, clarifying date labelling and donating unsold-but-consumable food. For textiles, we also want to include non-household products, carpets and mattresses, as well as sales via online platforms.”
March 15, 2024