In Brief
Textiles rank fourth in European consumption’s negative environmental impact, after food, housing, and mobility. Shifting to circular textile practices—like longer use, more reuse, and better recycling—can mitigate these impacts. Circular design principles, focusing on durability, repairability, and recyclability, are vital for this transition.
The European Union’s efforts in addressing the environmental, climate, and social impact of industries like textiles have faced criticism for being insufficient compared to initiatives taken by some Member States. Concerns were raised by the European Parliament last year regarding the Commission’s proposed legislation in the textile sector, which was deemed inadequate to ensure a sustainable future for the industry.
As certain national legislatures implement more stringent standards, there is growing pressure on the European Commission to align its policies accordingly to maintain the integrity of the single market and prevent disruptions in competition. This suggests a potential shift towards more ambitious EU-wide regulations to keep pace with evolving sustainability standards at the national level.
Key Messages
2019, the EU textile and clothing sector had a turnover of EUR162 billion, employing over 1.5 million people across 160,000 companies. As was the case in many sectors, between 2019 and 2020, the COVID-19 crisis decreased turnover by 9% for textiles as a whole and by 17% for clothing.
In 2020, textile consumption in Europe had on average the fourth highest impact on the environment and climate change from a global life cycle perspective. It was the consumption area with the third highest impact on water and land use, and the fifth highest in terms of raw material use and greenhouse gas emissions.
To reduce the environmental impacts of textiles, a shift towards circular business models, including circular design, is crucial. This will need technical, social and business model innovation, as well as behavioural change and policy support.
Circular design is an important enabler of the transition towards sustainable production and consumption of textiles through circular business models. The design phase plays a critical role in each of the four pathways to achieving a circular textile sector: longevity and durability; optimised resource use; collection and reuse; and recycling and material use.
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