MacArthur calls for EPR to save the textile sector

The report, Pushing the Boundaries of EPR Textile Policy, concluded that a comprehensive circular economy approach is the only viable solution and should be widely adopted, including in countries that are the final destination of textile waste.

EPR would be a key policy mechanism to provide the financial resources needed to establish large-scale separate textile collection schemes and cover the costs of managing all discarded textiles, not just those that are frequently reused value.

Under EPR, responsibility rests with producers to collect, sort and recirculate their products.

The foundation said this means that well-designed EPR policies can significantly improve costs and revenues for the separate collection, sorting, reuse, repair and recycling of discarded textiles.

It also said EPR could bring transparency to global material flows and attract capital investment in the infrastructure needed for reuse and recycling on the scale.

According to the foundation, over 80% of thrown away textiles are burned, landfilled or released into the environment.

This is because systems for the separate collection of textiles are poorly developed and do not cover all textiles placed on the market.

It stated: “The only way to keep textiles out of the waste stream or, worse still, the environment, is separate collection.

“But today, the economics of separate collection and sorting do not go together. There are costs associated with collecting and managing discarded textiles (except for textiles with high reuse value), and the profitability of sorters around the world is difficult. This is a key obstacle to achieving a circular economy for textiles.”

EPR has currently focused on recycling, but it needs to be harnessed to realize its potential to support circular design, extend the use phase of textiles and prevent microfiber leaks.

The Foundation said: “To achieve a global circular economy for textiles, national EPR systems must focus on the same key goals, while setting targets tailored to the national or regional context.

“In addition, the idea of ​​extending EPR policies beyond national borders should be further explored to manage textile waste where it ultimately ends up.”

He called on companies to design products in line with circular economy principles, develop collaborative multi-brand circular systems and invest in shared infrastructure that enables materials to be recirculated after maximum use.

The British Textile Recycling Association (TRA) warned in April “a perfect storm is brewing” in the clothing reuse market and called for EPR regulations to be imposed on the sector, while the European Confederation of Recycling Industries EuRIC said “urgent alarm bells have been raised”. from the Netherlands, Germany and Great Britain” among companies dealing in textile sorting.

TRA chief executive Alan Wheeler then said: “The quality of fashion is declining and the volume of textiles entering the market is rising,” as WRAP data shows the UK consumed 1.42 million tonnes of virgin textiles in 2022 and produced 1.45 million tons of post-consumer textiles.

Collectors, sorters and sorters handled almost a third of this volume, with the UK being one of the world’s leading exporters of used clothing, which was around 421,000 tonnes in 2022.

Wheeler said: “The global second-hand textiles industry is in dire straits. Warehouses are overflowing, harvests are coming to an end, demand in major global markets is massively disrupted, trade has plummeted, and news of layoffs and rumors of closures are a daily occurrence.

In April, WRAP said cheap textiles were destroying the reuse market because the UK lacked sufficient infrastructure to cope with the volume of textiles being thrown away.