How new recycling rules reduce waste

We’re now at the point where mountains of clothing waste are shaping EU law. With the new EU textile EPR rules, responsibility for that waste shifts directly to producers. From 2025, brands will fund the collection, reuse, and recycling of the products they put on the market. Fast fashion will mean higher fees. Circular design will mean lower ones. Consider this: a €5 T-shirt made from blended fibres, badly constructed, and treated with harsh chemical finishes may be nearly impossible to recycle—under the new EPR regime, such garments will now attract significantly higher fees from producers. But a jacket designed for repair, with mono-material fabrics and safer dyes, could cost less to place on the EU market. For those of us working on sustainable production and eco-design, this is a turning point. Change begins with how we design, source, and shape supply chains. #Sustainability #CircularEconomy #FashionInnovation #EcoDesign #EPR #EUTextiles #GreenProduction #SustainableFashion

Every second, the equivalent of a dump truck full of clothes is sent to a landfill. Could California’s bold new law help end this cycle of waste? The Responsible Textile Recovery Act (SB 707) is the first of its kind in the U.S., requiring textile and apparel companies to take responsibility for their products after consumers are done with them. This means less waste, more repair options, and the potential for a thriving circular economy. 🟢 Globally, 85% of clothing ends up in landfills or incinerators, despite efforts to recycle. 🟢 California alone disposes of 1.2 million tons of textiles annually—clothing, linens, and more. 🟢 The fast fashion industry accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions, making it a bigger polluter than aviation and shipping combined. Under the law, companies must: 🔵 Set up free drop-off and mail-back programs for consumers. 🔵 Join producer responsibility organizations (PROs) to fund and manage repair and recycling networks. 🔵 Innovate with recyclable and sustainable materials to meet new standards. This initiative shifts the financial burden of textile waste management from taxpayers (who spent $70M on disposal in California in 2021) to the companies producing the waste. It’s also a win for resale, repair, and upcycling industries. With compliance expected by 2030, California is setting the stage for a global shift in how we approach fashion. Could this legislation be the catalyst for a truly circular fashion economy? What do you think—will this help rethink fast fashion? 🌍

The EU Parliament has given the final green light to the revised 'Waste Framework Directive'. It sets new rules to cut food waste and requires producers to take full responsibility for textile waste, from collection to recycling. 🔹 Textiles: Producers selling textiles in the EU must cover the costs of collection, sorting, and recycling. EU countries must introduce an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme to enforce the new rules. All producers are covered, including e-commerce sellers, whether based in the EU or outside. Producers must disclose data on volumes of waste and their handling. The new rules apply to clothing, footwear, accessories, hats, blankets, bed & kitchen linen, curtains. 🔹 Food waste: Binding reduction targets by 2030: 10% in processing/manufacturing and 30% per capita in retail, restaurants, food services, and households. Key business players must help prevent food waste and ensure safe, unsold food is made available for donation. 👉 Yes, some sustainability regulations (like CSRD and CSDDD) face headwinds. But let’s not forget: progress continues in other key areas. === Press Release: https://lnkd.in/dkYnNzvT