EU news and archive

Spain launches pilot for large-scale textile waste management

The Spanish Association for the Management of Textile Waste, FEMP (Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces) and some of the largest fashion companies are joining forces to tackle textile waste ahead of the EU regulation for the Collective System of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles and footwear (SCRAP), which is...

Business

Six EU countries call for stricter supervision of Shein and Temu

Six European Union countries, including the Netherlands and Germany, are calling on Brussels to tighten the screws on online shopping sites Temu and Shein, which are suspected of selling products that are sometimes dangerous to consumers. “Every day, hundreds of thousands of parcels arrive at our homes, mainly from China, with goods that do not...

Business

European Commission introduces partial ban on PFAS use in clothing

Several years after the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden took steps to ban PFAS substances from the EU, a partial ban has now been introduced by the European Commission. It concerns a subgroup of PFAS (poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances), according to a statement from the commission. The ban will specifically apply to...

Fashion |OPINION Featured

Where is the system change in the fashion industry?

While reading the Dutch book ‘De mens is een plofkip’ ('Humans are battery chickens'), in which writer and journalist Teun van de Keuken takes a closer look at the food industry, I was repeatedly reminded of the fashion sector. Van de Keuken argues that it is almost impossible to escape the (ultra) processed food that is constantly being thrust...

BusinessFeatured

From About You to Patagonia: How the fashion industry is mobilising for the European elections

From today, 6 June to 9 June, the European elections will once again take place, in which citizens of the EU countries elect the members of the European Parliament. They represent the interests of EU citizens at European level and have the task of shaping and adopting new laws in all areas of life in the European Union (EU). As such, retail...

Business

Report: British retail exports to EU fell six billion pounds post-Brexit

New research has shown that international sales to the EU by British brands and retailers have fallen by 5.9 billion pounds since the introduction of Brexit, with uneven impact seen across categories. Among non-food exports, Clothing & Footwear has been one of the most impacted categories, with exports declining from 7.4 billion pounds in 2019...

BusinessFeatured

Digital Product Passport: new guide by TrusTrace unlocks the Why, What and How

“I got into fashion because I love numbers and data …” said nobody, ever, as pointed out by the new digital product passport (DPP) playbook, launched by TrusTrace, a platform for supply chain traceability and compliance, and written by about a dozen subject matter experts. However, the European Parliament adopted the Ecodesign for Sustainable...

BusinessFeatured

DEFI, ADEME and Paris Good Fashion join forces to simplify corporate carbon footprints

The ACT (Assessing low-Carbon Transition) initiative is the result of collaboration between the French Agency for Ecological Transition (ADEME), the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA). Together, they have developed a methodology for assessing the maturity of companies' low-carbon transition plans. At the...

Business

EU dismisses case against fashion companies accused of ‘cartel’ practices

Antitrust regulators for the European Union (EU) have reportedly scrapped an investigation into a group of fashion companies that it had raided over claims of “cartel practices”. According to a report by the European Commission seen by Reuters, the dismissal of the two-year investigation was down to “priority reasons”. The competition watchdog...

Business

European Parliament reaches due diligence law agreement

The European Parliament has reached an agreement on the 'Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive' coming more than two weeks after the agreement first failed when several member states rebelled. As such, the directive took on a watered down form due to pressure from Germany, Italy and France. EU member states have agreed that only...

Business

The European Parliament wants EU member states to implement EPR rules more quickly

The European Parliament has taken another step to tackle the problem of textile waste and food waste within the European Union. The vast majority of the group of people who make EU laws voted in favour of revising waste policy (known as the Waste Framework). This is an important step in the European Union's legislative process. More ambitious...

Business

Clampdown on fast fashion in EU sights

Strasbourg - EU lawmakers voted Wednesday to toughen rules on textile waste linked to so-called "fast-fashion". The proposal also creates new obligations for the textile sector, with producers required to foot the bill for collecting, sorting and recycling clothing, but also everything from carpets to mattresses, under the responsibility of...