Open letter: Textile Emergency Action Plan needed quickly
RREUSE, together with ACR+ and Zero Waste Europe, calls on EU and national policy makers to take urgent action to prevent the collapse of the used textile value chain. In less than two months, separate textile waste collection will become mandatory in the EU. This new requirement will place additional pressure on the sector, which has already been struggling with the market saturation created by the fast fashion industry and the increase in operational costs.
This looming crisis threatens to derail the EU’s circular economy goals, with devastating consequences for the environment, jobs, and social enterprises that play a vital role in textile reuse and recycling.
RREUSE and co-signatories call on the EU Commission and national governments to unblock emergency transitional funding mechanisms to ensure the sector’s survival during the period between the beginning of the separate collection and the entry into force of the EPR.
“Starting January 2025, separate textile waste collection will be mandatory. However, the used textile sector is already in crisis due to low-quality textiles and financial strain”, says Marie-Jeanne Gaertner, Project and Policy Officer at RREUSE. “The gap between mandated collection and the start of Extended Producer Responsibility funding could push the system to collapse. Immediate EU and national funding is essential to preserve textile collection systems, jobs, and the EU’s circular economy goals.”