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If you know me, I always say, do what you can when it comes to conscious living. However we can only do but so much and it can often feel like the burden is usually placed on us, the consumer. That’s why the latest news coming out of the European Union (EU) concerning Sustainable and Circular Textiles is really interesting and undoubtedly a start to changing this view.

Early this year the European Union`s Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textile was released. The proposal sets out to combat fast fashion, textile waste and the destruction of unsold textiles. A new strategy was devised to make textiles more durable, repairable, reusable and recyclable, to ensure that the manufacturing takes place in full respect of social rights. In addition to its target that by 2030 textile products sold in the EU should be long-lasting, recyclable, and free of harmful ingredients and created in harmony with social and environmental rights. This is a really big deal as it is one of the most ambitious commitments made by a collective of governments in the fashion and textile industry. Certainly something many have been craving for a long time.

Measures include eco-design requirements for textiles, clearer information, a Digital Product Passport and a mandatory EU extended producer responsibility scheme, measures to tackle the unintentional release of microplastics from textiles, greenwashing, plus a boost to circular business models, including reuse and repair services. To make a long story short they want to make sustainable products the norm throughout Europe.

If you didn't already know, the textile industry is one of the top five greenhouse gas emitters in the world and needs a tremendous amount of resource and water. Which is why the alarm bells are ringing for governments to start acting.

The critics have spoken

The approach has been criticized for not being ambitious enough. That the strategy is not tough enough on the impacts of e-commerce, human rights, unfair trading practices among other issues. One commenter on the European Commission’s Instagram page asked,

How will companies make money if they plan on "making fast fashion go out of fashion"? Why don't they give subsidies to companies that produce locally instead?

The Commission replied that they will rely on engagement in the reuse and repair sector and adopt favorable taxation. Is this enough? Especially when Europe has a trash waste crisis? Think Ghana environmental disaster fueled by used clothes and fast fashion.

In my view as I stated in my post about The Fashion Pact this is certainly the step in the right direction. I too agree that the strategy could be more ambitious but awakening a long-sleeping beast will not be simple. Mobilizing and coordination of all the nations within the EU to reach this target will be slow. The EU may not reach its 2030 target but then again targets are just that targets. They may or may not be met but the idea is to “aim” towards a goal. What we will see thanks to this strategy is countries outside of the EU also adopting similar strategies and legislation.

In one of my earlier posts I mentioned that brands need to be more purpose-driven demonstrating that their core values go beyond making a quick buck. Whenever I find a brand that I am interested in spending my money with, I not only see what they have on offer but also look to see how responsible they are in their activities. This is one of the criteria’s that can tip the scale of whether I shop with them or not. This goes back to my point of making more responsible consumption choices. This space will be forever changing as we seek to redefine “Sustainable Fashion”.

Do you agree that clothing should be made to last longer? How do you dispose of clothes you no longer want to wear? Share in the comments!

You might also like this related article: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT: THE FASHION PACT