ECOS | Environmental Coalition on Standards

Circular Economy

Textiles

ECOS actively participates in the development of policy and standards applying to textiles. Our goal is to limit negative impacts of textile products on the environment, ensuring that standards and legislation contribute to a circular textile economy, including more durable, reusable, and repairable design of (non-toxic) textile products as well as cleaner production. We strive to make sure that textiles on the EU market are circular, durable and produced in a sustainable way, free of hazardous chemicals.

What we are working on

  • Contribute to the policy discussions on the upcoming EU Sustainable Textile Strategy and Sustainable Products Initiative
    • Push for the establishment of a robust policy strategy on circular textiles, that includes an integrated product policy addressing all environmental aspects throughout the value chain;
    • Promote minimum requirements for textiles placed on the EU market;
    • Advocate for the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility for manufacturers, to set up take-back schemes prioritising preparation for reuse and closed-loop recycling;
    • Call for a standardised, consistent and reliable environmental labelling scheme for textiles.
  • Contribute to the European Civil Society Strategy on Fair and Sustainable Textiles and the work of the coalition behind it, and participate in the activities of the Wardrobe Change campaign
  • Support the development of definitions and standards for circularity in textiles, covering material efficiency aspects (durability, repairability, reuse, recyclability). Help to create methods to determine recycled content, high-quality textile-to-textile recycling, as well as labelling on durability and recyclability

 

Related campaigns:

                     

Related news

  • Textile strategy contains green ambition but forgets workers from the equation

    The European Commission has today, 30 March 2022, set out plans to bring more sustainability to the textile industry - a sector which remains largely under-regulated. But civil society groups are alarmed that the much-anticipated text misses out key human rights aspects from its focus. With environmental and social sustainability being two sides of the same coin, it is a huge missed opportunity that a chapter of the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles seems to have been lost.

  • Durable, Repairable and Mainstream – Let’s slow down and make our textiles circular

    The environmental impacts of the textile sector are growing by the minute. Unless we slow down, our planet will become the ultimate fashion victim. On 30 March, the European Union is releasing a dedicated EU Strategy on Textiles, meant to allow a shift to a climate-neutral circular economy. This will require an integrated, multi-faceted approach: while policymakers make sustainable products the norm in the EU, the industry will need to shift its business models to operate within planetary boundaries.

  • ECOS position paper: Laws and standards should help mainstream reusable masks and personal protective equipment

    Face masks and Personal Protective Equipment play a critical role in the battle against COVID-19 – and have become part of our daily essentials. However, disposable masks and other types of PPE are feeding a growing mountain of waste.

Contact person

Valeria Botta
Programme Manager+32 2 893 08 64 valeria.botta@ecostandard.org

ECOS is co-funded by the European Commission and EFTA Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EISMEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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