From 1 January 2025, textiles must be collected separately from household waste in all EU countries. At least, that is what the European Waste Framework Directive stipulates.
A few EU countries are already one step ahead and have introduced extended producer responsibility (EPR) for textiles, including France and the Netherlands. Now Italy is following suit: A draft bill was published by the Italian Ministry of the Environment at the beginning of April. In the future, manufacturers of textile products will be responsible for ensuring that all used textiles are collected and recycled. Manufacturers can fulfil their obligations individually or join a producer responsibility organisation (PRO).
Textile products covered by extended producer responsibility in Italy include clothing, footwear, accessories, mattresses, leather goods, and textiles for households, hotels and restaurants.
In addition, the draft law stipulates that manufacturers must contribute to reducing the negative environmental impact of textiles. Among other things, these should be easier to reuse and repair in future and contain more recycled textile fibres. Hazardous components must be eliminated.
However, it is only a matter of time before manufacturers in other EU countries will also have to bear the costs of collecting and recycling used textiles. A draft bill to amend the EU Waste Framework Directive of 2023 provides for precisely this. In February of this year, the European Parliament and the European Council reached a preliminary agreement on the draft legislation. This must now be officially approved by the Council and Parliament before it can move forward in the legislative process.
Would you like to learn more about extended producer responsibility for textiles?