32 Amendments of Ivan ŠTEFANEC related to 2022/2171(INI)
Amendment 22 #
1 a. Highlights the importance of the textiles ecosystem for jobs, growth and the preservation of cultural heritage in Europe; underlines that the European textile sector as of 2022 had an annual turnover of 147 billion with 58 billion euros in exports and 106 billion euros in imports and employs 1,3 million European citizens 1a; _________________ 1a https://euratex.eu/wp- content/uploads/EURATEX_FactsKey_Fi gures_2022rev-1.pdf
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Stresses the need to support SMEs within the textiles ecosystem in moving away from linear business models and unsustainable practices; therefore calls for the creation of a network of regional and national sustainability & innovation hubs to assist companies, in particular SMEs, in the twin digital and green transition; notes the opportunity the ‘Enterprise Europe Network’ may offer in this regard;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Acknowledges the threat for European industry and sustainability by imports of textiles that are non-compliant with EU legislation; urges the Commission and Member States to increase their monitoring and market surveillance to ensure compliance with EU-legislation, with special emphasis on non-EU companies to ensure a level- playing field for European businesses; welcomes the potential for establishing new mutually beneficial trade agreements, and strengthening existing trade relationships that can safeguard conformity of textiles products with EU legislation, and further can support the creation of jobs and economic growth both in the EU and among trade partners;
Amendment 41 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 c (new)
Paragraph 2 c (new)
2 c. Calls on the Commission and Member States to analyse the possibility to provide relevant and cost-effective support to third countries and suppliers in those countries to decarbonise textile supply chains, which will have positive influence on European businesses as well;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 d (new)
Paragraph 2 d (new)
2 d. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure policy coherence among the policy measures identified in the EU Textiles Strategy and the transition pathway to create a predictable, harmonised, relevant and seamless legal framework in line with existing EU legislation, in particular regarding the ecodesign requirements for textiles with sufficient implementation time for businesses; further urges the Commission and Member States to safeguard harmonisation of national policies at the EU level to ensure legal certainty and predictability for business operators in the Single Market, especially SMEs;
Amendment 43 #
Draft opinion
Subheading 1 a (new)
Subheading 1 a (new)
Ecodesign, the Digital Product Passport and Textiles Labelling
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 e (new)
Paragraph 2 e (new)
2 e. Takes note of the extension of the ecodesign regulation beyond energy- related goods, including textiles; underlines that great potential for more circular and sustainable textiles lies in the design phase of such products; urges the Commission to consult with research institutions and relevant stakeholders before setting clear targets and measures in the ecodesign delegated acts for different textile product categories on a risk-based and life-cycle approach, including a cost-benefit analysis; underlines that the targets need to reflect the given differences of diverse textiles products in their production processes and consumer usage and that they are technically feasible in accordance with state-of-the art technology; further calls for a transition period for the ecosystem to comply with new product-based ecodesign requirements;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 f (new)
Paragraph 2 f (new)
2 f. Underlines that information and notably performance requirements should be carefully fine-tuned to ensure technical and economic feasibility, including on aspects such as functionality, scalability and security of supply, creativity of design and competitiveness of European businesses, as well as affordability for consumers; highlights the importance of coherent information requirements for textiles products to be aligned with functionalities and responsibilities of the Digital Product Passport (DPP), in line with data protection obligations, trade secrets and intellectual property rights;
Amendment 46 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 f (new)
Paragraph 2 f (new)
2 f. Recognizes the great amount of investment needed for the digitalisation of the textiles ecosystem and therefore calls on the Commission and Member States to increase their funding efforts in this regard; recognizes that the access, sharing and processing of data relating to textiles ecosystem are essential for its digital transition;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 g (new)
Paragraph 2 g (new)
2 g. Emphasizes the role the Digital Product Passport can play to enable greater circularity and new business models of textiles by making data more accessible and transparent along the supply chain; is convinced of the possible business opportunities for commercialisation that can be invented through the DPP due to benefits in terms of transparency, consumer behaviour understanding, supply chain accuracy, waste reduction and correct treatment of textiles for recycling, reuse and repair; therefore calls for an immediate creation of a Pilot Project, funded by Horizon Europe, laying down the fundamental criteria and infrastructure needs for the DPP;
Amendment 48 #
2 i. Points out that the information provided by the Digital Product Passport needs to be relevant, accurate and up-to- date, and that the information can be easily accessible and usable for authorities, consumers and stakeholders along the supply chains; calls on the Commission to gradually phase-in the DPP with a longer implementation period for SMEs, and especially micro- enterprises taking account of their capacities, and to support them to ensure full compliance with the regulation; further calls on the Commission to base the DPP implementation on existing data bases, data infrastructures and data sharing best-practices to avoid duplication and unnecessary administrative burden;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 j (new)
Paragraph 2 j (new)
2 j. Recalls that questions regarding data reliability and verifiability, legal liability for the data published, access to data for companies along the whole supply chain, remain open to-date, and need to be addressed accordingly by the Commission and Member States; underlines the need to implement the DPP data obligations with specific consideration for information that constitutes trade secrets or concerns intellectual property rights;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 j (new)
Paragraph 2 j (new)
2 j. Welcomes the envisaged revision of the Textiles Labelling Regulation, which should harmonise all content for mandatory labels of textile products across the EU; highlights that all rules on labelling of textile products, both on physical and digital label and on all labelling domains, including for sustainability and circularity, are introduced with a view to ensure legal clarity, lower compliance costs for companies, in particular SMEs, and that information is easily accessible, readable and comparable to consumers and relevant businesses; calls on the Commission to further clarify and ease the classification process to apply for new fibre composition names for novel and distinctive materials;
Amendment 58 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Calls on the Commission, Member States and industry stakeholders to embrace the New European Bauhaus initiative and the principles of sustainability, aesthetics and inclusion for the transition of the ecosystem, as the connection of creativity, arts and science can facilitate social acceptance and help to overcome central challenges ahead; underlines that product attractiveness plays an important role in changing consumers´ habits and thus is a precondition for a sustainable transition of the European textile industry; highlights the uniqueness of the European creative sector in the world;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Underlines that the actions taken under the EU Textiles Strategy should greatly focus on the invention of new business models as the major mean to ensure continued European international competitiveness, e.g. by putting an emphasis on digital innovations and new types of fibres, rather than simply making the current business models of the European industry more sustainable, which is limited by the laws of thermodynamics; is convinced that the nature and function of apparel will fundamentally change in the upcoming years, turning from public image to become a more integral part of the life of citizens, e.g. by providing information to consumers on various aspects, e.g. the health status;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Subheading 1 b (new)
Subheading 1 b (new)
Transition Pathway
Amendment 80 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Recognizes the transition pathway as an important step to transform the textiles ecosystem in Europe; regrets the Commission has taken almost two years after the update of the EU´s industrial strategy to build a textiles ecosystem transition pathway; stresses that a quick finalisation and implementation of the support actions for businesses is of utmost importance to enable the sustainable transition; stresses that actions taken in accordance with the transition pathway should be fully aligned with the EU Industrial Strategy, the legislative activities envisaged in the EU Textiles Strategy, the goals of open strategic autonomy and objectives of the European Green Deal;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3 d. Acknowledges the energy-intense nature of the textiles production and the challenges European companies face due to the ongoing energy crisis and soaring energy prices; welcomes national and EU support measures to bring down energy prices to an internationally competitive level, and to thereby maintain and develop production capacities in Europe, keeping Europe´s companies in business without disturbing decarbonisation incentives for them;
Amendment 91 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3 e. Underlines the need to reduce the carbon footprint of the sector, largely by investments into greenhouse gas reduction technologies and research therein; strongly believes that the question of worldwide water usage in the production of textiles, mainly by growing cotton, has to be addressed immediately by an increased effort for research and innovation, in particular for new forms of fibres that demand less water;
Amendment 94 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 f (new)
Paragraph 3 f (new)
3 f. Recalls that the transition to a circular economy of the textiles ecosystem also presents a significant potential for the creation of new green jobs with the upskilling and reskilling of the existing labour force; urges the Commission and Member States to facilitate access to innovative education curricula for the development of relevant skills, particularly due to the necessary digital transition of the industry, which creates job opportunities but also demands highly skilled workers; further calls on the Commission and Member States to direct great attention to the merger of artistic and technological training for workers in the textiles ecosystem, harnessing synergies between creative and technological skills, to continuously promote the mobility of skilled labour across Europe and to preserve the European cultural heritage of textiles crafting skills;
Amendment 121 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls that several EU funding opportunities exist, such as via Cluster 2 of Horizon Europe or the European Innovation Council; calls for the creation of an EU research and innovation agenda aligned with the transition pathway for the textiles ecosystem; emphasizes that the EU research and innovation agenda has to address the whole value chain of circularity in the textiles ecosystem; underlines the leading role the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) on Culture & Creativity3 and Manufacturing4 should play in this process. _________________ 3 https://eit.europa.eu/eit-community/eit- culture-creativity. 4 https://www.eitmanufacturing.eu/.
Amendment 128 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Stresses that the upcoming Horizon Europe work programmes should reflect the goals of circularity and sustainability as set out in the EU Textiles Strategy and in the corresponding EU research and innovation agenda for textiles; furthermore points out that related calls should be based on a structural engagement of stakeholders of the whole ecosystem.
Amendment 129 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Recalls the obligation for Member States to have separate collection infrastructure for textiles as of 1 January 2025; underlines the urgent need for funding and innovation support for the industry to be ready to make use of the collected waste by ways of recycling, reusing or repairing and to ensure an environmentally sound management of the collected textiles; encourages the Commission to monitor Member States that have implemented separate collection before 1st of January 2025 to gather best practices and identify possible issues related to harmonisation of sorting and collection practices at EU-level; calls on the Commission and Member States to consider textile waste as raw material for the production of textiles.
Amendment 132 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
5 c. Stresses the need for direct funds on both EU and national levels for research, innovation and the scale-up of infrastructure for high-quality manual and automatic composition sorting of textiles to minimize waste, optimize recyclability and increase reusability; recalls that shipments of waste are essential for the re-looping of secondary raw materials in the economy; underlines the importance of harmonised end-of- waste criteria and waste definition for textiles.
Amendment 134 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 d (new)
Paragraph 5 d (new)
5 d. Underlines the importance of recycling for circularity and reduction of waste and as a source of raw materials for the textile production in Europe; highlights the need to create strong incentives for recycling that trigger the demand-side and create a stable and open market for recyclers; recalls that for creating European recycling industry, collection, sorting, waste treatment and shipment requirements across the whole value-chain need to be aligned with necessary investments efforts; calls for Member States to increase their investments in recycling technologies, including the scale-up of existing recycling plants, in particular in mechanical and chemical recycling technologies that allow the separation and recycling of mixed materials; therefore calls to orientate European funding towards development of market-ready technologies for recycling.
Amendment 136 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5 e. Underlines business opportunities for reuse and repair and its contribution to a more sustainable and circular textiles ecosystem; stresses that innovation and scale-up investments for these business models should be a part of the EU research and innovation agenda.
Amendment 138 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 f (new)
Paragraph 5 f (new)
5 f. Calls for the development of 'European Textile Hubs', that connect innovative research centres with collection, sorting, recycling and disposal plants, turning waste into value and creating new jobs in textile manufacturing hubs; stresses the need for direct substantial funding for innovation actions for the scale-up of demonstrators across the EU.
Amendment 140 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 g (new)
Paragraph 5 g (new)
5 g. Takes note of the physical boundaries to recyclability and circularity of current existing fibres due to the laws of thermodynamics; therefore stresses the ambition to shift away from the classic textiles industry dominated by cotton and petroleum-based fabrics, calls on the Commission alongside Member States, industry and research institutions to continue, encourage and fund research into the inherent tradeoffs between making textile products more durable and reusable, recyclable, repairable and free of hazardous substances.
Amendment 142 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 h (new)
Paragraph 5 h (new)
5 h. Stresses the need to look beyond the currently existing fibres and textiles to increase research and innovation related to inventing new raw materials in order to increase recyclability, overcome the limitations of the laws of thermodynamics, diminish the carbon footprint of textiles production and to reduce the dependency on land, water and oil for the textiles ecosystem; is convinced that new types of fibres and textiles combined with digital solutions will be able to improve citizen´s lives, e.g. by providing health information to the user of the product.
Amendment 144 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 i (new)
Paragraph 5 i (new)
5 i. Highlights the fact that man-made fibres, both bio-based and synthetic, are still essential in the manufacturing of technical textiles alongside many other textile categories, and therefore will continue to play a role in the ecosystem related to making products durable, sustainable and circular; highlights that research and innovation directed to man- made fibres is needed, including for the recycling of waste-to-fibre.
Amendment 147 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 j (new)
Paragraph 5 j (new)
5 j. Stresses the need to continuously support research and funding for handling microplastics pollution by synthetic textiles and microfibers shedding; calls on the Commission to address this issue in the envisage Commission’s proposal on measures to reduce the release of microplastics in the environment.
Amendment 149 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 k (new)
Paragraph 5 k (new)
5 k. Stresses the importance of research into the development of alternatives to the conventional use of chemicals, water reuse through the development of wastewater treatment technologies, and to reduce energy and water consumption in the production process.