In an attempt to mitigate the harmful environmental effects of one of the world’s most pollutive industries, the European Union (EU) has implemented legislation requiring more sustainable practices by companies in the fashion and textiles industry.[2] These regulatory efforts have been in furtherance of the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles (SSCT), which the European Commission (the Commission) announced on March 30, 2022, as part of its 2020 Circular Economy Action Plan.[3]
The EU has sought to implement the SSCT through directives and regulations affecting virtually every stage of a product’s life cycle—from manufacturing and advertising through ultimate disposal.[4] Key EU legislation affecting the fashion and textiles industry includes the following:
Waste Framework Directive
Waste Shipment Regulation
Empowering Consumers in the Green Transition Directive
Green Claims Directive
Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation[5]
Together, these regulations and directives embody the EU’s core objective in adopting the SSCT: “[t]o create a greener, more competitive textiles sector.”[6]
Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation
Of the SSCT’s implementing legislation, the most recent regulation to take effect is the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which took effect on July 18, 2024.[7] Recognized as the “cornerstone of the Commission’s approach to more environmentally sustainable and circular products,” the ESPR seeks to impose requirements on the fashion and textile industry that aim to
improve the “durability, reusability, upgradeability, and reparability” of products;
increase the energy- and resource-efficiency of products;
limit waste generation; and
make product sustainability information more widely available.[8]
The Commission plans to spend the first half of 2025 organizing an “ESPR working plan” to determine which products and industries require more immediate attention and regulation.[9] Although set to do so in the coming months, the ESPR specifically identifies the textiles industry, including both garments and footwear, as one of the industries the Commission is “obligated to prioritise.”[10] The ESPR is likely to have the biggest effect on European companies, however its requirements extend to “all products placed on the EU market, whether produced inside or outside the EU,” therefore giving the regulation global reach.[11]
Compliance with the ESPR will require textile companies operating in the EU market to assess how they manufacture products, communicate product sustainability information to consumers, and dispose of unsold products.[12] Although the ESPR provides a framework for implementing new standards, it states that specific ecodesign requirements are to be set forth in future legislation tailored to different types of products.[13] While it remains to be seen what restrictions the Commission will impose on the fashion and textile industry, possible requirements may include standards relating to the use of recycled or easily recyclable materials in clothing and shoes, restrictions on the use of harmful materials in clothing, and broader requirements aimed at reducing the industry’s environmental footprint.[14]
While functioning primarily as a precursor for forthcoming requirements, the ESPR does establish explicit rules regarding the disposal of certain textile products.[15] The ESPR sets forth a prohibition on the destruction of unsold consumer products, beginning July 19, 2026.[16] This prohibition covers the destruction of unsold “apparel and clothing accessories,” “hats and other headgear,” and various forms of footwear.[17] The ESPR’s focus on product destruction represents the EU’s attempt to mitigate the harmful environmental impact of fast fashion—which has contributed significantly to the overconsumption and waste issues at the heart of the SSCT.[18]
The EU’s comprehensive regulatory framework aimed at promoting sustainability has led the way for similar legislation from other governing bodies.[19] In the U.S., both the New York and California state legislatures have considered enacting laws focused on reducing the environmental impact of the fashion and textiles industry.[20] Although currently stuck at the committee stage in the New York State Senate, New York’s Fashion Act seeks to impose new standards that will hold fashion retailers accountable for “environmental responsibility, sustainability, and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction.”[21] In September 2024, California became the first state to enact legislation addressing textile waste in the U.S.[22] California’s Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024 seeks to hold producers accountable for environmental costs resulting from the production, use, and eventual disposal of apparel and other textile articles.[23]
With fast fashion and society’s general focus on consumption wreaking havoc on the global environment, one can only hope that recent efforts by lawmakers to promote sustainability are not just a current trend but rather the first steps in revolutionizing the industry for years to come.
[5] EU Strategy, supra note 3.
[12] Council Regulation 2024/1781, art. 5, ¶ 9, 2024 O.J. (L) 33–34 (requiring ecodesign requirements promulgated under the regulation to include either “performance requirements” relating to products themselves or “information requirements” addressing the disclosure of product information, or both); see also Lidia Lüttin, Full Overview of the EU Textile Strategy and Regulations, Carbonfact (June 3, 2024), https://www.carbonfact.com/blog/policy/eu-regulations-for-textile-brands (considering the implications of the ESPR, which require assessment of “product design from beginning to end” and “[f]or the fashion and textile sector, . . . mean[] greater transparency and traceability”).
[15] See Council Regulation 2024/1781, art. 25, 2024 O.J. (L) 50.
[17] Council Regulation 2024/1781, art. 5, 2024 O.J. (L) 87.
[18] See European Commission Press Release IP/22/2013, Green Deal: New Proposals to Make Sustainable Products the Norm and Boost Europe's Resource Independence (Mar. 29, 2022), https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_2013 (describing the EU’s vision for a “thriving” textiles industry, which requires “the incineration and landfilling of textiles . . . to be reduced to the minimum”); see also EU Strategy, supra note 3 (recognizing the Commission’s goal of ensuring “fast fashion is out of fashion” as a key objective of the SSCT).
[23] See id.; S.B. 707, 2023–2024 Reg. Sess. (Cal. 2024).
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