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A wave of sustainability regulation from the European Union (EU) has the potential to change the fashion landscape and raise the bar for brands. Here’s a guide to the key incoming EU regulations to understand, both confirmed and pending.
Broad ambitions
In March 2022, the EU adopted a strategy for sustainable and circular textiles that sits within the broader context of its 2020 circular economy action plan and the European Green Deal, with a headline target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to at least 55 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030.
The plans could have a radical impact on the fashion industry. “Our ambition is that, by 2030, all textile products placed on the EU market will be durable, repairable and recyclable, to a great extent made of recycled fibres, free of hazardous substances, produced in respect of social rights and the environment, with profitable reuse and repair services widely available, and fast fashion being out of fashion,” a spokesperson for the EU Commission tells Vogue Business.
The policies cover everything from fibre to finished product as well as post-consumer waste. “Because of the complexity of the textiles and fashion industry and its manifold environmental and climate impacts, the commission is taking a whole value chain approach to increasing circularity in the ecosystem,” the spokesperson explains. “This means that every action at each product life cycle stage is linked to the others and important for the transition.”
Ecodesign
One of the EU’s flagship proposals — and among the most hotly debated — is the Ecodesign For Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which is currently in transition through the EU Council and Parliament (the co-decision procedure). The proposal introduces ecodesign requirements as a minimum sustainability standard for all products entering the European market. Its aim is to ensure that products are designed for circularity, meaning that they are durable, reliable, reusable, repairable and upgradable, with a minimum presence of substances of concern and a high level of recycled content.
The newly formed European Fashion Alliance has published its first position paper, detailing its support and concerns around the EU’s upcoming ecodesign regulations. It’s an existential fight between sustainability compliance and creative freedom.
ESPR is a horizontal framework that will therefore apply to all industries and product categories, but there is scope for more specific regulation for textiles, confirmed as a top priority product category in the ESPR public consultation that closed in May. Although the draft framework is currently with the co-legislators, the EU Commission is already preparing for textiles-specific regulations by partnering with the Joint Research Centre (JRC), which aims to provide independent, evidence-based knowledge and science for EU policymakers.
Microplastics
An initiative addressing the unintentional release of microplastics from sources including textiles has been among the most challenging to get right, says the spokesperson. This summer, the EU is expected to publish a proposal to deal with the different lifecycle stages of synthetic microfibre production. It will include product design, manufacturing processes, industrial manufacturing plants and washing machine filters for the consumer stage. The EU is currently focused on gathering better data relating to the release of microplastics into the environment from textile products. The findings could eventually make their way into the ESPR requirements, minimising microplastic release from the design stage onwards.
In April, the Reach (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) committee voted to adopt a European Commission proposal to ban intentionally-added microplastics to personal care and beauty products, among others. This proposal also awaits the scrutiny of the European Parliament and the European Council within a three-month timeframe.
Greenwashing
Many of the EU regulations around sustainable fashion are underpinned by the principles of traceability and transparency, which require brands to have oversight of their supply chains from top to bottom. There are also specific regulations now in place that mandate how brands share this information, including the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) implemented in January 2023 that will affect some 50,000 companies in the immediate term.
For the fashion industry, the EU Commission spokesperson identifies ESPR and the proposed extended producer responsibility (EPR) update of the Waste Framework Directive as most potentially transformative. The spokesperson also highlights the drive to curb greenwashing through the Empowering Consumers in the Green Transition initiative and the Green Claims Directive, the latter another horizontal framework that sets requirements for environmental claims about products or services. Under the new proposals — expected to pass before the current European Commission’s mandate ends in October 2024 — claims will need to be specific, proven with scientific evidence, checked by independent accredited verifiers, and communicated to consumers in a clear way.
One notable exclusion from the Green Claims Directive is the highly anticipated product environmental footprint (PEF) methodology, developed by the EU as a means of measuring environmental performance and validating sustainability claims. This has been heavily criticised by industry players for its inadequate coverage of renewability, biodegradability, biodiversity, social impacts and microplastic pollution.
PEF is part of a broader effort to standardise environmental labels and certifications — and weed out less robust options. The US Federal Trade Commission has similar proposals pending. A number of high-profile investigations by international watchdogs have already led to brands removing the tags from their ‘sustainable’, ‘responsible’ and ‘eco’ product lines.
To avoid accusations of greenwashing, brands will be encouraged to use the EU Ecolabel certification. Experts say this is among the most robust, but it has a low engagement rate because of the lengthy process of certification. The EU regulation on textile labelling and fibre composition was adopted in 2011 and will be reviewed imminently, according to the EU Commission. The Ecolabel is likely to be modernised and may interact with digital product passports. New elements may also be introduced as to what brands must disclose on labels, including more detailed requirements around countries of origin, fibre composition and recyclability. This is one of several areas where France is leading the charge: the country brought in tighter disclosure rules earlier this year. For EU-wide adoption, insiders say it’s still very early stages.
Waste
On the subject of EPR, the EU Commission is currently preparing a targeted amendment to the Waste Framework Directive focusing on textiles and food waste. The amended proposal is due this summer and has been fiercely debated by activists and lobbyists, including the Or Foundation that advocates for justice-led EPR.
The initiative focuses on a more circular and sustainable management of textile waste, responding to objectives set out in the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. The EU is assessing the feasibility of setting up a harmonised EPR scheme for textile waste across its member states. France already has a scheme in place, with the Netherlands expected to follow suit very soon. According to the Commission, an EPR scheme for textiles is one of the key solutions to improve the circularity of the textile value chain.
Preparatory work for this revision has also explored the idea of setting targets. EU member states are obliged to establish separate collections of textile waste by 1 January 2025. The question of how to define textile waste — whether this should include deadstock or secondhand textiles, for example is under review.
In 2021, the EU Commission adopted a proposal for Waste Shipment Regulation that would require shipments to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, such as the UK and the US, to follow the prior notification and consent procedure — meaning all relevant authorities of dispatch, transit and destination have to give written consent for shipments. The proposal is currently in the co-legislation procedure pending adoption. The impact on textiles would be to restrict the export of waste to non-OECD countries, although it raises the question again of what exactly textile waste is.
On the international front, two pieces of legislation are currently in negotiation: the corporate due diligence directive and the forced labour regulation. Both are horizontal and would likely affect textiles.
Opportunities to contribute
While the direction of travel of EU legislation has been decided, there are still some opportunities for the fashion industry to have a say on details. “The European institutions are in constant exchange with stakeholders in order to take into account their views when proposing and then implementing rules for the textiles industry,” the EU spokesperson says. “The commission also formally consults stakeholders through public consultations. The next one will open when work starts on the delegated act for textiles under the ESPR.”
Separately, an EU policy paper was published this month for the Transition Pathway for the Textiles Ecosystem, outlining 50 specific actions to support the twin transitions – the so-called green and digital transitions – and the long-term resilience and competitiveness of the textiles ecosystem. In light of this, the EU has opened a call for industry players to submit their own commitments. The first stock-taking exercise is scheduled for 30 September, although the call will remain open after that point.
More coordinated industry efforts are also underway to influence EU regulations. This month, the newly formed European Fashion Alliance (EFA) — a lobbying body for fashion creatives, comprising 29 fashion councils and entities focused its first-ever position paper on ESPR. The EFA challenged the draft proposal on the inclusion of recycled content and recyclability, an all-out ban on the destruction of unsold goods and its relationship to digital product passports. The passports aim to provide customers and other stakeholders with the product information to make more informed decisions.
The EU appears to recognise the importance of the new EFA. At a roundtable in Brussels to discuss the ESPR position paper, MEP Dr Christian Ehler told EFA members: “We need your expertise — this transformation won’t work without you.”
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