Activities of Maria NOICHL related to 2022/2171(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles
Amendments (30)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles as a step forward in tackling the challenges linked to textile and clothes production; welcomes further EU efforts on its commitments towards the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and stresses that actions following the presentation of the EU Strategy should be fully aligned with the Union’s climate and environmental objectives, in particular that of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest and of halting and reversing biodiversity loss; welcomes further EU efforts on its commitments towards the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 12, responsible consumption and production, and SDG 8, decent work and economic growth; strongly encourages the international promotion of this approach and strengthening cooperation with partners;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. B. Whereas the textile and clothing industries are often based on cheap labour, where women’s labour conditions are often substrandard and women are lacking any social protection;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Recalls ILO Convention 111 and Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the right to non- discrimination;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1 c. Recalls that global textile production almost doubled between 2000 and 2015 while less than 1% of all textiles worldwide are recycled into new products;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1 d. Denounces the vicious circle created by climate change effects which force agricultural workers to abandon their land because it is no longer suitable for farming and to go to the industrial centers having to seek exploitative employment in the garment industry, among others; recalls that those migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation as they lack social support networks and because there is a general lack of social infrastructure and legal protection; recalls that increasing droughts or floods also threaten cotton farmers worldwide; recalls that cotton is a particularly striking example for that vicious circle, as it harms the soil due to excessive water use while also having damaging effects on farmers and the environment due to the use of pesticides and insecticides;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights that the production of textiles and clothing (T&C) often takes place outside the EU and most T&C traded in the EU are imported from third countries which pay the social and environmental price without being paid properly in terms of retail or purchase value; calls on the Commission to ensure a level playing field for products produced within the Union and those exported or imported;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the textile industry is one of the most polluting industries2 ; whereas women and girls are more likely than men to be financially dependent on natural resource-based activities or climate- vulnerable sectors and are frequently exposed to additional gender-specific factors and barriers that consistently render them more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and disasters; _________________ 2 https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/he adlines/society/20201208STO93327/the- impact-of-textile-production-and-waste-on- the-environment-infographic
Amendment 26 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Recalls that around 70% of the emissions related to the Union’s textile consumption take place outside of the EU; calls for more robust information and disclosure on impacts on biodiversity;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. Whereas women working in the textile sector, because of imbalanced power relationships and insecure working arrangements, unsafe working conditions, forced overtime and health hazards, are especially vulnerable to gender- based violence and sexual harassment; whereas gender inequalities in the textile sector lead to gender pay gap.
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Recalls that as most of the final clothing and household textiles consumed in Europe are imported from third countries, the EU should promote greener and fairer value chains across borders and continents to ensure that textile products consumed in the EU and beyond are manufactured taking into consideration both social and environmental aspects across the globe;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Recalls that, related to structural racism, indigenous craft is often appropriated - often without reward or consent mechanism - and used for clothing for mass-consumption, and traditional crafts and their makers are sacrificed, as local communities are pushed into low-paying garment worker jobs2a; _________________ 2a https://cleanclothes.org/file- repository/an-intersectional-approach- challenging-discrimination-in-the- garment-industry_lbl_dci-wpc-paper- final.pdf
Amendment 32 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Points out that T&C from Europe are often exported to third countries for disposal; stresses that this harmful practice shifts environmental problems arising from the disposal of T&C to third countries; recommends that T&C to boverproduction and overconsumption back to third countries, via the disposal of T&C; recommends that proper circularity is established for the purpose of avoiding this kind of harmful practices; urges the EU and its Member states to fundamentally overhaul the linear nature of the texported for disposal must be prepared for proper recycling; tile industry so as to reduce the consumption of resources like water and also to reduce pollution and waste, use non-hazardous substances, and to create decent jobs in repair, recycling and servicing sectors as well as economic benefits for society as a whole3a; _________________ 3a https://fairtrade-advocacy.org/wp- content/uploads/2020/07/Civil-Society- European-Strategy-for-Sustainable- Textiles.pdf
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Recalls that a separate collection of textiles will be mandatory in the EU from 1 January 2025; underlines that the revision of the Waste Framework Directive planned for 2024 should consider specific separate targets for textile waste prevention, textile reuse, preparation for reuse and recycling;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Recalls that the global textile and clothing industry is currently responsible for 92 million tonnes of waste annually;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4 c. Recalls that the mass influx of second-hand clothes from the EU into developing countries, especially in Africa, has caused a huge waste problem there, as well as damage to local textile production and job creation;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4 d. Recalls the risk of forced or child labour in the textile sorting industry;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that working conditions in the textile industry, mainly but not only in third countries, are often substandardinacceptably deficient and have a direct negative impact on workers’ living standards due to low wages, poor working conditions and inadequate safety standards and harmful practices such as, among others, using dangerous chemicals which lead to poor health conditions and sometimes incurable deceases; highlights that women are in particular in an even more vulnerable position; is equally concerned about persisting child labourcondemns persisting child labour and forced labour as well as corruption in the industry;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Highlights that negative environmental and social impacts in supplier countries cannot be avoided through due diligence legislation alone; calls on the Commission to provide additional support for local actors in partner countries and to take additional legislative measures to address these impacts in countries outside of the EU;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Regrets that the strategy foresees no action against the harmful purchasing practices of companies; points out that, according to ILO, the current power imbalance between garment buyers and their suppliers causes overproduction and exploitation of workers in the industry; considers that unfair trading practices, such as last minute changes in design or lead times, unilateral amendments to contracts, insufficient purchasing practices and last-minute cancellation of orders, should be banned for companies active in the EU single market by way of a revision of existing legislation;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Urges the Member States to ratify the relevant International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, including ILO Convention 190, and implement its recommendations, especially those intended to reduce the scale of precarious work and protect workers from the harmful effects of chemicals, as well as from violence and harassment in the workplace;
Amendment 59 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5 c. Underlines that the transition to a more sustainable and circular ecosystem of the textile industry offers the opportunity to improve the working conditions and remuneration of workers; calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure the possibility of sectoral training and education in the field of sustainable textiles in order to safeguard current jobs, improve worker satisfaction and in order to ensure the availability of a skilled workforce within and outside the EU;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5 d. Recalls the risk workers are running when trying to establish workers' unions or going on strike; recalls that, in many countries, workers do not earn a living wage even when working extremely long hours and do not have the right to collective bargaining;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Calls for employers in the textile sector to ensure a basic social security to their employees;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Recalls the need to improve accountability and transparency of brands in the T&C sector, for the purpose of guaranteeing the right to information for consumers;
Amendment 71 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6 c. Expresses its regret that the proposal on substantiating environmental claims using the product/organisation environmental footprint methods has been delayed; calls on the Commission to publish the proposal without further delay; recalls that sustainability claims in the EU single market should be clear, relevant and substantiated to enable consumers to make more informed and sustainable purchasing decisions with the aim to avoid so-called green-washing which causes confusion and distrust among consumers and undermines the efforts of businesses that provide genuinely green products and services;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the proposal for an ecodesign regulation covering textiles, the review of the Textile Labelling Regulation3 and the potential introduction of a mandatory disclosure of information; calls for the inclusion of social and labour standards in both the proposed ecodesign regulation and under labelling requirements, such as working hours and working conditions; _________________ 3 Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 September 2011 on textile fibre names and related labelling and marking of the fibre composition of textile products and repealing Council Directive 73/44/EEC and Directives 96/73/EC and 2008/121/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. OJ L 272, 18.10.2011, p. 1.
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Amendment 78 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Welcomes the expected European Commission proposal to ban products made with forced labour from entering the EU market that will encompass the use of forced labour across the entire supply chain. Recalls the importance of gender mainstreaming of all EU policies.