Waste Not: The Textile Crisis

Fast fashion is one of the reasons behind the increase in textile consumption that has occurred over the last few decades. Its business model relies on copying designer styles and, thanks to mass production, delivering them quickly to stores, where they are sold for a low price.

According to the European Parliamentary Research Service, fast fashion chains introduce a new collection every two to four weeks. As a result, people are more inclined to throw out perfectly wearable clothing, because it is cheaper, easier, and more “fun” to shop for fast fashion than to take care of the garments they already possess.

EU circularity legislation could potentially bring about change. The current Waste Framework Directive obliges member states to ensure separate collection of textiles for re-use and recycling by January 1st, 2025.

The European Commission is planning to introduce harmonised extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes that would require fashion brands and textile producers to pay fees in order to help fund the textile waste collection and treatment costs.

From 2024, European Ecodesign Regulation will set sustainable design standards for textiles, encouraging circularity throughout product life cycles. For example, mixed materials (a t-shirt made from 50% cotton and 50% polyester) will be subject to higher fees to be put on the market.

These measures, together with other policies, such as taxes and customs on fast fashion goods, focus on the entire supply chain, and on increasing labour prices in producer countries, could eventually lead to higher cost of all fashion items.

Recycling is currently very low, only 1% finds its way to new textiles. When recycled, textiles are usually shredded and turned into products for the automotive industry, or acoustic and thermal insulation. Chemical recycling is energy intensive and so far only viable for plastic fibres. Mixed materials pose an additional challenge.

The global textile production has almost doubled since 2000, and is expected to continue to rise significantly. Given the shortening lifespan of textile products, the recycling technologies will simply not be able to follow suit.

While it is no doubt necessary to properly collect and sort discarded clothes, the glaring necessity to rethink our entire concept of textile consumption is more than obvious.

There are various initiatives addressing these issues. Local and regional policymakers also play a role in this, as shown in the Interreg Europe project TEXAD, which aims to create circular policy instruments covering prevention, proper sorting, collection and valorisation of textile waste.

The Region of Central Macedonia is taking actions to make their textile industry circular, using the recommendations from a Policy Learning Platform peer review. Local authorities can raise awareness and promote responsible consumption, support second hand and repair stores. Businesses can lease their clothes instead of selling it.

Whether it will come from the end user, or through increased pricing due to regulation, does not ultimately matter. The bottom line is, we need to stop treating clothes as disposables, but rather as an investment. Something of high value and quality, something that will be cherished for a long time.