#ResettheTrend or #RefashionNow is an EU-led campaign on sustainable textiles and fashion as part of the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles.
In the past 10 years or so, there has been growing awareness of the environmental and social damage caused by fast fashion – the overconsumption of poor-quality clothing often manufactured in unsafe clothing factories throughout Asia. When discarded, it contributes to the textile waste mountains polluting air, water and land in African countries with inadequate waste management systems.
Five million tonnes of clothing are discarded in the EU each year, which works out at about 12kg per person, a little less than a quarter of the average weight of clothing purchased each year (53kg). A mere 1 per cent of the materials in these discarded clothes is recycled into new clothing.
The EU’s consumption of textiles is estimated to have the fourth-highest impact on the natural environment and climate change after food, housing and mobility (transport). In Ireland, we dispose of 164,000 tonnes of clothing each year, making us the second-highest producer of textile waste in the EU.
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates about 35 per cent of this waste is separately collected mainly through textile banks and direct donations to charity shops. The other 65 per cent is collected as waste and processed mainly in so-called waste-to-energy plants (aka incinerators).
But a new raft of EU regulations and directives is set to change how we manage textile waste. From January 1st, 2025, member states will have to set up separate collection systems for textile waste. “Every member state is already prepared for this deadline even if countries have different starting points,” explains Helene Smits, head of business developments and partnerships in the Amsterdam-based Looper Textiles firm.
Smits, who spoke at a recent circular economy conference in Dublin organised by the EPA, says Ireland and the UK are unusual compared to continental European countries in their reliance on charity shops as collectors of textile waste. “From January 2025, consumers will have to bring all textiles to collection points rather than think that they can only donate what’s reusable to charity shops,” she explains.
Under the EU strategy, all clothing and textile materials will have to be sorted for reuse or recycling. “Many countries will have to increase collecting infrastructure and, if everything is collected, the overall quality will go down, leaving less for reuse,” says Smits.
EU waste shipment regulations will also restrict the export of textile waste from 2026 onwards to prevent EU states from exporting unsorted textiles and clothing outside the EU. Needless to say, some Irish charity shops are concerned they will have a greater role in waste collection going forward.
“Charity shops are not waste disposal centres,” Dermot McGilloway, national retail development manager at the St Vincent de Paul charity, told the conference.
One solution might be found in the European Commission’s proposals for extended producer responsibility for textiles in all EU member states as part of its revisions to the Waste Framework Directive. This will mean producers will have to take responsibility for the entire life cycle of their products and in particular at the end of the product’s life.
In 2024, California became the first state in the United States to pass a responsible textile recovery Act which mandates that manufacturers of textiles are now responsible for funding and managing the end-of-life processes of their products, including recycling, reuse and repair. The European Commission’s 2030 vision for textiles is that all textiles products placed on the EU market will be durable, repairable, recyclable and to a great extent made from recycled fibres free of hazardous substances and produced in respect of social and environmental rights.
The ultimate aim is to make fast fashion unfashionable. “Once the extended producer responsibility system comes it, it should ensure funding and investment in the right infrastructure to increase collection and sorting,” Smits adds.
However, she says that to create guaranteed demand for recycled and reusable textiles, the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products regulation will be essential. “This will be important in terms of durable and long-lasting products but also for mandatory recycled content in new textiles,” she says.
Some clothing manufacturers are already leading the way by offering their customers opportunities to keep clothes in use for longer. Popular brands such as Zara and H&M offer garment repair and peer-to-peer resale as well as take-back schemes for recycling their clothing.
Decathlon also offers repair services, buy back/resell options and rental/subscription models. Patagonia is the best example of an ethical clothing brand as in 2022, its founder, Yvon Chouinard transferred the company to a steward-ownership model, Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective.
This pioneering move means that all profits which are not reinvested into Patagonia are distributed as dividends to protect the planet and fight the climate crisis. Patagonia is also a global leader in sustainable clothing design (making long-lasting clothing) and the promoting of repair (with in-house repair services and DIY guides to repair), reuse and recycle (with a take-back scheme) practices.
As well as the top-down drive to better manage textile waste through EU directives and regulations, there is a growing number of social enterprises which are having an impact in local communities. One such example is the Roscommon Women’s Network (RWN) Cycle Up Textiles social enterprise.
As well as raising awareness of the effects of textile waste on the environment, the network reduces the amount of unsold textiles in their charity shop by training people to make up-cycled fashion, giftware and homeware items for sale.
Other examples are Changeclothes.org, a community-based clothing reuse hub in Thomas Street, Dublin, run by Mary Fleming. This popular initiative includes a swap shop, preloved dress rentals, up-cycling and repair workshops, and distribution of clothing to those in need. Jennifer Kiersey also runs an online platform, 2nd Avenue Trading, which sells mid- to high-end clothing brands for people who want to make money out of their unused, top-quality excess clothing.
The latest EPA textiles behavioural insights research also shows Irish consumers are slowly improving when it comes to buying second-hand clothes, and repairing and renting clothes. For example, 57 per cent (67 per cent of under-35s) said they would use repair services if incentivised. And 27 per cent (39 per cent of under-35s) said they would rent clothes while 60 per cent (70 per cent of under-35s) would shop in charity shops if the items were attractive. And while the under-35s continue to buy the most clothing (53 per cent buy items of clothing weekly or a few times a month), that same age group are the most likely to buy clothes in charity shops.
The growing number of online second-hand and rental outlets may yet be the trend that becomes the death knell of the fast-fashion industry as a more regulated global clothing industry is forced to make more durable clothing that can be worn again and again and again.
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