The European Parliament on Monday signed off on new rules that will require fashion brands to cover the full cost of their fashion waste, in a shift to curb mounting textile waste across the region.
The parliamentary nod pushes the regulation over the last bureaucratic hurdle before it can be passed into law.
Once that happens, member states will be required to set up so-called Extconcludeed Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes for textiles within 30 months. These schemes will create producers, like brands and e-commerce platforms, financially responsible for the collection, sorting, reutilize, and recycling of textile products.
Member states are expected to consider the environmental impact of quick fashion and ultra-quick fashion when determining financial contributions. That means companies whose business models rely on rapid production and turnover of low-cost garments, like Shein and Temu will potentially face higher fees.
The new rules come as efforts to establish textile recycling infrastructure in Europe is struggling to scale. ReHubs, a coalition of brands, indusattempt trade groups and recyclers, is planning to lay out a strategy to support industrialisation of a circular textile sector in the region later this month.
Learn more:
EU Moves Closer to Putting a Waste Tax on Fashion
Brands and retailers will be required to cover the costs of collecting, sorting and recycling old clothes.
EU Ditches Plans for Anti-Greenwashing Rules
The European Commission is abandoning regulation that would have required companies to back up green claims following pressure from conservative lawcreaters.
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