ITALY, Mineo (Ct) : a clothes shop inside the C.A.R.A. of Mineo in southern sicily during the EP delegation visit on July 24, 2015.

Make-shift camp - Laundered clothes drying along highway next migrant reception centre Jules Ferry.

Clothes have been left to dry on a fence at a refugee camp on the Greek eastern island of Lesbos, on Wednesday, November 4, 2015.

A refugee is silhouetted behind clothes which have been left to dry on a fence at the port of Mytilene, on the eastern island of Lesbos, on Wednesday, November 4, 2015.

A woman looking clothes in a bazaar in Soufli, some 850km north from Athens on 19 October, 2012.

Fashion shop in Brussels.

Consumer Protection Textile Industry. Made in China

With fast fashion, the quantity of clothes produced and thrown away has boomed. Find out more about the environmental impact and what the EU is doing about it.

Fast fashion is the constant provision of new styles at very low prices.

To tackle the impact on the environment, the EU wants to reduce textile waste and increase the life cycle and recycling of textiles. This is part of the plan to achieve a circular economy by 2050.

The impact of textile production and waste on the environment

Production and employment in the textile and clothing sector in various EU Member States (debate)

Meeting on the Campaign for EU-Wide Ban on Cat and Dog Fur Trade.

Stockshot on SMEs - Fashion creator and designer Marie-José Moisson - MARJO

Fashion jewels at the EP in Brussels.

Fashion show at the EP in Brussels

Press conference on the campaign for  an EU-wide ban on cat and dog fur trade.

Fashion show at the EP in Brussels.

This infoclip shows the António Cruz Serra residence is located between several academies at the University of Lisbon, with close access to the University's central services. The residence has mixed occupancy, offering rooms of different types, which include access for reduced mobility. The residence has various study rooms for a large number of residents and several social and leisure spaces. Residents may also have access to areas at their disposal for preparing food, as well as washing and drying clothes. The total number of beds is 335. they are distributed in 145 single rooms, 90 double rooms, and 10 reduced mobility rooms. The student’s residence had financial support from the Next Generation EU (Recovery and Resilience Facility) with 10.232.575,00 €.

Infoclip: University Residence for students - Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) - Lisbon (Portugal)

The new Ecodesign Directive for Sustainable Products (ESPR) will replace the current Ecodesign Directive, introducing more Ecodesign criteria for a broader range of products. The revised legislation would apply to almost all products on the internal market (except food, feed, medicinal products and living organisms). MEPs request several changes to the Commission proposal, including a ban on destroying unsold textiles and electrical and electronic equipment. They also want the Commission to prioritise setting minimum sustainability requirements for a number of product groups in upcoming ecodesign measures, such as steel, aluminium, textiles, furniture, tyres and chemicals. This infoclip shows steel production, textiles such as clothes and footwear, tyres, paint and detergents.

Infoclip: Ecodesign regulation

Ten years after the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh killed 1,134 garment workers, the European Parliament passed a resolution asking for new minimum standards to make the textile sector sustainable. 
 
MEPs also called for measures to protect workers' rights in third countries and safeguards to limit the environmental impact of industries.  

The collapse of the Rana Plaza factory killed mostly women, producing cheap clothing for well-known western brands.

Rana Plaza: MEPs push for ethical, sustainable textiles 10 years on

MEPs from the ENVI (Environment, Public Health and Food Safety) Committee vote on the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. The European Parliament calls for binding EU legislation to guarantee that fashion is not produced at the cost of environmental destruction and human lives. Requirements should be set that prevent unsold clothes from being shredded or sent to landfill just because they are no longer in fashion or the warehouse is full. Only textiles that meet a minimum standard of sustainability requirements should be imported into the EU or produced within the EU. Extracts from the vote in committee and statement by Delara BURKHARDT (S&D, DE), Rapporteur.

Vote on EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles: extracts from the vote and statement by Delara BURKHARDT (S&D, DE), Rapporteur

On 27 April, ENVI Members vote on the own-initiative report on the Sustainable Textiles Strategy. The EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles is an integral part of the EU Circular Economy Action Plan. It sets out to create a coherent framework to facilitate the transition of the textiles industry to a more sustainable and climate-neutral model by 2030. Specific ambitions include ensuring that textile products placed on the EU market are durable, recyclable and made largely of recycled fibres, free of hazardous substances and produced in full respect of human and workers.

Infoclip: Circular economy: sustainable textile strategy (updated version)

This infoclip shows the activities at the centre for asylum seekers and refugees of Casa Suraya (Milan, Italy). The centre currently hosts 99 people from African and Asian Countries who sought refuge in Europe in the 2023. The footage includes: accommodation, food, distribution of clothing and personal hygiene products, health care, legal and psychological assistance, language classes, educational and recreational activities for kids.

Infoclip: Immigration and asylum – Milan (Italy)

The amount of clothes bought per person in the EU increased by 40 % between 1996 and 2012. Producing new clothing causes chemical pollution and contributes to climate change. There is a strong push in the EU to make every phase of garment production more sustainable. Some companies and fashion brands are investing in new technologies and business models. So what is the way forward? Even though there is no global one-size-fits-all answer, key trends have emerged, like circular fashion. This model promotes clothing rental, re-use and recycling.

EPRS - Circular fashion

This strategy will help the EU shift to a climate-neutral, circular economy where products are designed to be more durable, reusable, repairable, recyclable and energy-efficient. It aims to ensure that the textile industry recovers from the COVID-19 crisis in a sustainable way by making it more competitive, applying circular economy principles to production, products, consumption, waste management and secondary raw materials, directing investment, research and innovation. This infoclip illustrates the Circular economy: sustainable textile strategy with an organization that operates a used clothing collection service to create new and unique piece of clothes and with a leather goods workshop creating bags with recycled tarpaulin

Infoclip: Circular economy: sustainable textile strategy

Within the recycling centre in Brussels, a team supervised by the association "Les Petits Riens" is present on site to examine the objects brought there. If these can be reused, they are stored, sorted and then recovered via second-hand shops. The participants in this project are in professional reintegration. The ESF aims to support that kind of project to help people find better jobs and to offer more equitable professional prospects. This Infoclip illustrates people selecting items that can be treated in the waste collection center, sorting and packaging center for clothes, sorting and repair center for toys, repair shop for household appliances and second-hand store.

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Infoclip: University Residence for students - Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) - Lisbon (Portugal)

Infoclip: Ecodesign regulation

Rana Plaza: MEPs push for ethical, sustainable textiles 10 years on

Vote on EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles: extracts from the vote and statement by Delara BURKHARDT (S&D, DE), Rapporteur

Infoclip: Circular economy: sustainable textile strategy (updated version)

Infoclip: Immigration and asylum – Milan (Italy)

EPRS - Circular fashion

Infoclip: Circular economy: sustainable textile strategy

Infoclip: Circular economy and social inclusion

Photoset (7)

Fashion shop in Brussels.

Meeting on the Campaign for EU-Wide Ban on Cat and Dog Fur Trade.

Stockshot on SMEs - Fashion creator and designer Marie-José Moisson - MARJO

Fashion jewels at the EP in Brussels.

Fashion show at the EP in Brussels

Press conference on the campaign for an EU-wide ban on cat and dog fur trade.

Fashion show at the EP in Brussels.

Photos (186)

ITALY, Mineo (Ct) : a clothes shop inside the C.A.R.A. of Mineo in southern sicily during the EP delegation visit on July 24, 2015.

Make-shift camp - Laundered clothes drying along highway next migrant reception centre Jules Ferry.

Clothes have been left to dry on a fence at a refugee camp on the Greek eastern island of Lesbos, on Wednesday, November 4, 2015.

A refugee is silhouetted behind clothes which have been left to dry on a fence at the port of Mytilene, on the eastern island of Lesbos, on Wednesday, November 4, 2015.

A woman looking clothes in a bazaar in Soufli, some 850km north from Athens on 19 October, 2012.

Fashion shop in Brussels.

Fashion shop in Brussels.

Fashion shop in Brussels.

Fashion shop in Brussels.

Infographics (1)

The impact of textile production and waste on the environment