Importance of textiles' re-use and recycling 

Textiles and clothing are essential to our everyday life. Since 1975, the global production of textile fibers has almost tripled. Textile fibers are mostly synthetic (60%), with polyester being the most widely used fiber. Cotton is the most widely used organic fiber but accounts only for 37% of the fibers used. Textiles are the fourth largest contributor to resource’s use and greenhouse gas emissions accounting respectively for the share of textiles consumed in the EU-28 to 1321kg/person and 654kg CO₂-eq/person in 2017¹.

Textiles re-use and recycling activities contribute to preserve textile fibers in the circular economy and save the equivalent of up to 98% of CO₂ when compared with the use of virgin materials^2. They therefore play a vital role to enhance the circularity of textiles.

¹ETC/WMGE 2019/6, Textiles and the environment in a circular economy (2019), European Environment Agency.
²Impact Assessment of ADEME & FEDEREC assessing recycling environmental benefits based on a LCA approach, April 2017.

Benefits

EuRIC Textiles aims at promoting, representing and protecting the collective interests of the European textiles re-use and recycling industry. This industry consists of companies and organizations who collect, sort for re-use and recycling, transport and market used textiles, shoes and accessories. The Textiles Branch was founded in 2019 when textiles re-use and recycling became one of the top priorities within the European Union.

EuRIC Textiles Members are national re-use and recycling federations as well as companies in lieu active throughout Europe in the field of collecting and processing post-consumer textiles.

The primary focus of EuRIC Textiles will be:                        

• Monitoring the implementation of the EU’s Textiles Strategy;
• Promoting extended producer responsibility (EPR) for new textiles with eco-modulation of fees;
• Supporting eco-design criteria for textiles;
• Encouraging end-of-waste (EoW) criteria for textiles which have been prepared for re-use;
• Foster recycled content targets for textiles to pull the demand for quality recycled fibers.

Objectives

EuRIC Textiles Branch's main objectives are:

• To monitor and analyze at EU level all legal, environmental, economic and technical issues relating to the collection, sorting, preparing for re-use, recycling, transporting and marketing of used textiles, shoes and accessories.

• To ensure a proper representation of the European textile re-use and recycling sector to the European institutions and liaise with relevant private associations inside and outside the EU.

• To provide expert inputs on any EU policy and regulatory initiative which could have an impact on the collection, sorting, preparing for re-use, recycling, transporting and marketing of used textiles, shoes and accessories.

• To promote a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework which incentivizes the re-use and recycling of used textiles, shoes and accessories.

• To maintain a link between the European national member federations, in strict observance of relevant legal requirements.

EuRIC Textiles Branch Members