The current cost-of-living crisis has had a significant impact on households across all Europe. With rising inflation, the cost of basic goods and services is increasing at a rate that outpaces wages, leaving households struggling to make ends meet. According to a European Parliament Eurobarometer survey, 93% of Europeans are worried about the rising cost of living1. Higher prices contribute to general uncertainty. As a matter of fact, the threat of poverty and social exclusion has now become the second most pressing concern for 82% of Europeans, according to the same survey.

With the opportunity to provide feedback on this consultation, RREUSE supports the establishment of an intermediate climate target for 2040 under EU law, highlighting the role of the circular economy in achieving climate goals while guaranteeing a just transition for all and creating economic opportunities.

The construction and demolition sector is one of the most material-intensive industries and one of the largest contributors to waste production in the EU. In fact, it has become the largest waste stream in Europe, accounting for more than a third of all waste generated. To increase circularity in the sector while creating social employment, some social enterprises from the RREUSE network have been active in the re-use of building components. This briefing outlines the importance of these activities carried out by social enterprises.

RREUSE welcomes the possibility to give feedback on new product priorities under the upcoming Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. As an organisation that promotes the reuse and repair of products, we believe that mandatory eco-design requirements can play a key role in reducing waste and minimizing the environmental impact of products throughout their life cycle, while also creating major savings for European households.

The first-ever International Day of Zero Waste, held on March 30, 2023, brought attention to the need for sustainable consumption patterns and highlighted the work of social economy enterprises in re-use, repair, and recycling. Re-use, rather than recycling, can often be the better environmental solution, saving materials, energy, money, and time.

Waste prevention is at the top of the waste hierarchy, and the positive impacts of reuse are further multiplied when reuse activities and second-hand sales take place locally. Re-using textiles locally is the most sustainable way to close the textiles loop as well as to deliver local jobs for the circular and just transition.

Our study “Putting people and skills at the core of the circular economy: 18 stories from social enterprises” is officially released today! Through this collection of stories and the extraction of conclusions from them, this report highlights the vital role that social enterprises can play in upskilling and reskilling workers for a more circular economy, and reveals that without a clear understanding of the skills needed in a circular economy, it will be difficult to tailor training programs that ensure a balanced labor supply and demand.

RREUSE is enthusiastic to announce the submission of its first pledge as part of the Transition Pathway for the Proximity and Social Economy ecosystem, which aims at addressing capacity and skills gaps within the circular economy.

In the context of the consideration of the European Parliament’s draft report on the EU Strategy for sustainable and circular textiles, RREUSE, together with 6 civil society organisations recalls the necessary actions to make the textiles strategy an effective tool to shift the sector towards circularity as well as environmental and social sustainability.