"The clothes must survive two or three washes! (...) By 2030, all textiles must be sustainable, recyclable", have a minimum content of recycled fibers, "and be free of hazardous substances", explained the Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans, castigating "fast fashion" at bargain prices of mediocre quality.
The European executive's roadmap, which will have to be negotiated by MEPs and Member States, proposes to ban the destruction of unsold items and to fight against the rejection of microplastics contained in textiles by tightening manufacturing standards and industrial prewash.
The Commission also wants to introduce for clothing, as for a very wide range of consumer goods, a "digital passport" in the form of a QR code, which will provide information on traceability and materials to consumers, repairers and recyclers.
These digital passports "may be presented with performance letters from A to G, such as the current EU energy label (...) for example to establish a repairability score" or recyclability.
Each person in the EU buys an average of 26 kg of clothing and household linen per year, 73% of which is imported, and throws away some 11 kg of textiles, or 5.8 million tonnes across the 27.
Worldwide, where textile production doubled between 2000 and 2015, less than 1% is recycled, and up to 35% of microplastics released into the environment come from polyester or acrylic-based clothing.
Beyond textiles, the set of proposals aims to make "virtually all physical goods on the European market more environmentally friendly, circular and energy-efficient", in their manufacture, use, recycling or final disposal. garbage.
The Commission also intends to tighten its requirements on the design of products, which determines up to 80% of their environmental impact, by imposing the use of more durable, resistant and even recycled materials, and by making their maintenance and repair more easy, including easy replacement of smartphone batteries, Timmermans said.
© 2022 AFP