RREUSE welcomes the European Commission (EC) ’s proposal for a Council Recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions published June 13th, a flagship initiative of the Action Plan on the Social Economy (SEAP) aimed at encouraging EU Member States to create better-enabling environments for social enterprises and all social economy actors across pertinent policy areas.

RREUSE welcomes the report on an EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles that the European Parliament (EP) adopted on 1 June 2023. Whereas the EP report could have gone further in tackling key issues, it does address some of the missing pieces in European Commission’s proposal and is a crucial step toward a more ambitious circular and social framework for the future of the textile sector.

RREUSE welcomes the Commission’s intention to tackle misleading claims and greenwashing practices through the introduction of minimum criteria for the substantiation of green claims. However, the initiative still presents remaining issues.

The proposal is a cautious step forward towards promoting repair and refurbishment, but still falls short of introducing a true right to repair for EU citizens. A “right to repair” legislation was initially announced in the 2021 State of the Union address as part of the European Green Deal, with the aim of extending the lifespan of products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste, while also creating green and local employment opportunities.

RREUSE welcomes the Commission’s proposal for a Regulation on Critical Raw Materials that was first announced by President Von der Leyen in her 2022 State of the European Union address, but reaching the aims of the Regulation will not be possible without a concrete commitment to reduce material demand by prolonging the useful life of products through re-use and repair activities.

Close cooperation on harnessing digital trends across the social enterprise community was at the heart of discussions at RREUSE’s 4th International Conference on the digital era of social enterprises active in the circular economy. November 16th and 17th 2022 found over 100 enthusiastic participants in Vienna for the highly anticipated event.

RREUSE’s latest briefing, Job creation in the re-use sector: Data insights from social enterprises, highlights the opportunities for job creation in the re-use sector. Based on first-hand experience and expertise provided by the wider RREUSE network, the data was...

Yesterday, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted positively on a text calling for a more ambitious Circular Economy in the EU. Providing an opinion on the Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) released by the Commission in March 2020, it complements the...

After seven years of impeccable leadership as President of RREUSE, Antigone Dalamaga has passed on the presidency to Matthias Neitsch following a unanimous vote at RREUSE’s Annual General Assembly. Matthias is the Managing director of RepaNet, the Austrian NGO for...