Activities of Pär HOLMGREN related to 2022/2171(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on an EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles
Amendments (92)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
— having regard to Decision (EU) 2022/591 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 April 2022 on a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2030 (“8th Environment Action Programme”)
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
— having regard to the Commission communication of 14 October 2020 on the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability Towards a Toxic-Free Environment (COM(2020)0667) and Parliament’s resolution of 10 July 2020 on the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 b (new)
Citation 4 b (new)
— having regard to the Commission communication of 20 May 2020 entitled ‘a Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system (COM(2020)0381),
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 c (new)
Citation 4 c (new)
— having regard to the Commission communication of 16 January 2018 ‘A European Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy’ (COM(2018)0028) and Parliament’s resolution of 13 September 2018 on a European strategy for plastics in a circular economy
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 d (new)
Citation 4 d (new)
— having regard to the Commission’s proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products (COM(2022)142)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 e (new)
Citation 4 e (new)
— having regard to the Commission’s proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (COM(2022)71)
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 f (new)
Citation 4 f (new)
— having regard to its Report on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on shipments of waste (2021/0367(COD))
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 g (new)
Citation 4 g (new)
— having regard to Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste (“Waste Framework Directive”)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 h (new)
Citation 4 h (new)
— having regard to the Commission communication of 5 March 2020 ‘A Union of Equality: Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 (COM(2020)152)
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)
Citation 5 a (new)
— having regard to the EEA briefings from January 2021 on ‘A framework for enabling circular business models in Europe’ , from January 2021 on ‘Plastic in textiles: towards a circular economy for synthetic textiles in Europe’, from February 2022 on ‘Textiles and the Environment: The role of design in Europe's circular economy’ and from February 2022 on ‘Microplastics from textiles: towards a circular economy for textiles in Europe’
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas global textile production almost doubled between 2000 and 20152 the fashion, textile and garment sector is increasing material throughput and increasing disposal and waste of clothing and textiles; whereas this has led to troublingly high industry contributions to global carbon emissions, natural resource use of water and land, and biodiversity loss; whereas global textile production almost doubled between 2000 and 20152 ; whereas the consumption of clothes and shoes is expected to increase by 63% by 2030; whereas less than 1 % of all textiles worldwide are recycled into new products3 ; __________________ 2 https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/a- new-textiles-economy 3 https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/tex tiles-in-europes-circular-economy
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas European citizens discard on average 11 kg of textiles per person per year, with garments typically having been worn only 7 or 8 times6a; __________________ 6a https://emis.vito.be/sites/emis/files/articles /91/2021/ETC- WMGE_report_final%20for%20website_ updated%202020.pdf
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas clothing comprises the largest share of EU textile consumption, with 81 %4 ; whereas the trend of using garments for ever shorter periods before throwing them away is the biggest contributor to unsustainable patterns of overproduction and overconsumption5 is the growing demand for textiles, used for ever shorter periods before being thrown away, rooted in a linear model that is characterised by low rates of use, reuse, repair and fibre-to-fibre recycling of textiles and that often does not put quality, durability and recyclability as priorities for the design and manufacturing of apparel; __________________ 4 https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/reposit ory/handle/JRC125110 5 https://textileexchange.org/app/uploads/20 22/10/Textile-Exchange_PFMR_2022.pdf
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the European textiles manufacturing industry employs more than 1.5 million people and produces 7.4 kg and imports 27.9 kg of textiles per person per year.
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Cc. whereas women are both disproportionately represented in the most vulnerable and marginalised positions in the sector; whereas many of the women making up the garment industry are low wage workers, whereas garment workers on average only receive 1-3% of the final retail price of clothing;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B d (new)
Recital B d (new)
Cd. whereas women, migrant and informal workers are key to circularity, but are especially vulnerable to negative social impacts; whereas this requires adoption of intersectional perspectives and approaches; whereas many women workers in the garment industry are under the threat of violence and sexual harassment, whereas the voices of women workers in the garment industry are often unheard and the unequal distribution of power and agency and the lack of representation and access to justice have huge significance for the injustices women workers in the garment sector experience; whereas issues linked to gender-based harassment and violence are often silenced by giant global value chains and intensified by gender power imbalances between a mostly female workforce and predominantly male management structures;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas 73% of clothes and household textiles consumed in Europe are imported; whereas the majority of environment and climate change impacts occur in upstream production processes, and thus from an EU perspective externalised to other countries;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
Cb. whereas, according to the IPCC’s 6th Assessment, limiting warming to around 1,5°C requires global greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by 43% below 2019 levels by 2030; whereas textiles are on average the fourth biggest contributor to climate change and environmental impact from an EU consumption perspective; whereas human rights, the environment and climate change are strongly interlinked, whereby human rights cannot be enjoyed without a healthy environment and a sound climate, and equally sustainable environmental governance cannot exist without the respect for human rights;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
Cg. whereas recent analysis has shown that voluntary, industry-led regulation has delivered little to no improvements in labour standards over the past three decades, and the pandemic has further compounded pressure on wages and labour standards; whereas industry initiatives such as shifting to more sustainable fibres and textiles, or providing supposedly ethically-conscious options, typically only account for a small percentage of a brand’s offerings, allowing the majority of operations to continue in a business-as-usual manner;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
Cd. whereas existing systems for separate collection of textiles in the EU are voluntary and focus on collecting clothing that is deemed rewearable; whereas the JRC estimates that between 50% and 75% of these separately collected textiles are reported as reused; whereas a large share of collected clothing is exported to non-EU countries with no collection infrastructure in place; whereas there is currently no viable business case to separately collect and process all textile waste in the EU, highlighting the need for a collective system and infrastructure to capture the value of used textiles;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
Ce. whereas hazardous chemicals used in the manufacturing of textiles are harmful to both the environment, workers and consumers; whereas highly toxic chemicals, such as PFAS, continue to play a major role in the production of textiles; whereas many products, including textile products, sold to European consumers do not comply with EU chemicals legislation such as REACH; whereas in its ‘Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability: Towards a Toxic-Free Environment’ the Commission has committed to minimise the presence of substances of concern in textile products through the introduction of new requirements;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C f (new)
Recital C f (new)
Cf. whereas the introductions of certification and labelling systems which seek to at best ‘green’, but at worst ‘greenwash’ existing practices do not fundamentally overhaul the existing unsustainable practices that are at the core of many business models;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C g (new)
Recital C g (new)
Ch. whereas the Commission in its Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 commits to include a gender perspective in all aspects and levels of policy making, internal and external, including addressing needs, challenges and opportunities in specific sectors;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C h (new)
Recital C h (new)
Ci. whereas the social, green and feminist agenda are interlinked and share the goal to ensure a fair distribution of resources; whereas a circular economy is necessary for the realisation of the green and just transitions; whereas improving social sustainability therefore cannot be done through a single instrument but requires a holistic approach that looks at the entire value chain including design, buying, production, consumption and recycling;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C i (new)
Recital C i (new)
Ck. whereas harmful purchasing practices imposed by buyers on their suppliers underpin the overproduction and exploitation of workers in the industry, with transversal social, environmental and climate impacts;
Amendment 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C j (new)
Recital C j (new)
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C k (new)
Recital C k (new)
Cn. whereas research shows clearly that current trends in fashion consumption cannot be maintained if we aim to achieve a fair and just transition to climate neutrality, and therefore that the transition, while desperately needed, cannot happen with a focus mainly on new technologies and changes in production;
Amendment 62 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C l (new)
Recital C l (new)
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission communication on an EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles and the vision it presents for 2030; stresses that actions following the publication of the 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 lossParis Agreement and the Kunming- Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework; welcomes that textiles have been identified as priority product category for action under the Circular Economy Action Plan; ;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Acknowledges the urgency of ensuring that textile products placed on the EU market are long-lived, reusable and recyclable, and free of hazardous substancesmade largely from recycled fibres, free of hazardous substances and produced in respect of social rights and the environment; stresses that measures must prioritise waste prevention and durability, reusability and reparability over recycling in line with the waste hierarchy; expresses its concern that the measures identified in the EU Strategy might not be sufficient to fulfil the 2030 objective and calls on the Commission to ensure all necessary measures, including additional measures to those identified in the strategy, are taken to achieve the 2030 vision;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Emphasises the specific role that first movers, SMEs and start-ups are playing in the transition to a circular and climate-neutral economy; underlines the need for research in sustainable materials, processes, technologies, products and business models, as well as their industrial scale-up; calls on the Commission and Member States to provide support to SMEs where necessary;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the need for an absolute reduction in the consumption and production of textiles made of virgin resources and the EU’s consumption and production footprint; Calls on the Commission and the Member States to adopt measures to put an end to fast fashion, premised on high volumes of lower quality garments at low price levels; underlines the need to achieve a paradigm shift in the fashion industry to end overproduction and to make fast fashion go out of fashion;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Commission to use the textiles strategy as an opportunity to further the Union’s competitiveness in textiles by transitioning the market to one of sustainable and circular products with high standards for the protection of health and the environment, sustainable resource use and full respect for human rights;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Welcomes the encouragement in the EU Textiles Strategy to businesses to reduce the number of collections per year, as well as the link made between fast fashion and fossil-fuel based synthetic fibres; regrets that measures mentioned in the Strategy are not sufficiently aimed at solving the main issue of overproduction and overconsumption; calls for new and revised policy to improve the circularity of textiles, such as the Ecodesign Regulation, to prioritise reducing the absolute volumes of textiles placed on the market;
Amendment 97 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Expresses concern that binding science-based targets for 2030, 2040 and 2050 on the protection of biodiversity and to reduce resource use, including for water and energy, and consumption in absolute terms are missing from the Commission strategy and calls for such targets by 2024, in line with the target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; recalls that the European Parliament has already demanded such targets in its resolution of 10 February 2021 on the New Circular Economy Action Plan; emphasises the need for rapid and radical reductions in fashion consumption for the EU to be in line with the Paris Agreement and calls for an equity-based production and consumption footprint reduction target to be equivalent to a 60% reduction of the current average consumption in the G20 countries; expresses its strong concern over the fact that the consumption of clothes and shoes are by contrast currently projected to increase by 63% by 2030;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3d. Regrets the widespread use of unfair trading practices and power imbalances in the sector, leading to adverse social, climate and environment impacts; calls for legislation to stop unfair trading practices in the textile sector;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses the need to support consumers in moving away from fast fashion and the excessive consumption of clothing and in making responsible and sustainable textile consumption choices; calls on the Commission and the Member States to reduce aggressive and false advertisement and develop and implement awareness-raising programmes on sustainable consumption and the environmental and, climate and social impacts of the textile and clothing industry, in collaboration with civil society; points out that information requirements cannot substitute binding targets or ecodesign requirements;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Highlights the need to better quantify the role, and understand the drivers of e-commerce platforms/markets and targeted advertising on social media platforms and incentives for excess purchasing, such as buy-now-pay-later options, free shipping and returns and quantity discounts, in driving clothing consumption and investigate regulatory options to allow consumers to limit their exposure to this form of advertising and incentives for excess purchasing;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Regrets the large fraction of textiles available on the Union market that are non-compliant with Union law, in particular on hazardous chemicals; calls on Member States to allocate sufficient resources to market surveillance and customs controls to enforce legal requirements, prevent the import of counterfeited or unsafe textile products and ensure a level playing field; calls on the Commission to audit the enforcement systems in Member States with regard to textiles and to make recommendations for improvement, strengthen cooperation and coordination between enforcement bodies, and propose EU enforcement instruments, where necessary; calls on the Commission to make use of the powers granted under article 11 (4) of Regulation (EU)2019/1020 in order to ensure adequate testing of products across the Union;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Reaffirms its call on the Commission to take swift legal action when it establishes that EU laws are not being observed; recalls its observation of 16 January 2020 that procedures have to be more efficient in the field of environmental infringements; calls on the Commission to review its internal guidelines on infringement procedures;
Amendment 115 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Draws attention to the fact that imports of non-compliant products sold through online platforms and other digital services are widespread, and calls on those service providere Commission and Member States to ensure that the textile products they sell comply with EU lawsold by those service providers comply with EU law; calls for online marketplaces to be included in definitions of the types of economic operators that market surveillance authorities can take action against;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Notes that in addition to its significant negative environmental and climate impacts, the textile industry also has a detrimental social impact; stresses that a disproportionate number of women and marginalised groups are engaged in precarious work, including high levels of part time work, receipt of poverty wages substantially below living wages, forced labour, hazardous working conditions, health damage in connection with chemicals used, and gender-based violence including sexual harassment; recognises the impact of fast fashion on psychological health on workers as well as consumers through aggressive marketing and environmental distress;
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Considers that any form of pollution needs to be prevented or reduced to levels that are no longer harmful to human health and the environment so as to live well, within the planet’s ecological limits.
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Expresses concern that from a consumption point of view, over their life cycle, textiles have on average the fourth highest negative impact on the climate and the environment, after food, housing and mobility7 ; points out that in 2020, the textiles sector was responsible for the third highest impact on water and land use and the fifth highest impact on the use of raw materials and greenhouse gas emissions8 ; stresses the need to reduce the impact of manufacturing and wet processing stages where 60% of the climate impact occurs; __________________ 7 https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/tex tiles-and-the-environment-the 8 https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/tex tiles-and-the-environment-the
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that textiles are the fourth biggest contributor to climate change from an EU consumption perspective, and that the industry’s emissions are only expected to increase9 ; calls for further legislation to fully decarbonise the industry, starting with morewith full value chain transparency on scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions in textile supplyvalue chains; calls for ambitious science-based targets to be set by 2024 for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the textiles sector, covering their entire lifecycle, in line with the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures and with the use of equity-based approaches; recalls that around 70 % of the emissions related to the Union’s textile consumption take place outside of the EU10 ; calls for more robust information and disclosure on the impactsall environmental and climate impacts, including on biodiversity; __________________ 9 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular- economy/pdf/new_circular_economy_actio n_plan.pdf 10 https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/tex tiles-in-europes-circular-economy
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes the fact that the strategy makes a link between fast fashion and the use of fossil fuel-based synthetic fibres, which in turn has major implications for microplastic pollution; points out that microplastics release climate pollutants such as methane and ethylene into the environment, contributing to climate change, and that microplastics undermine human health and the resilience of the ocean and the environment in general;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. CRegrets that the initiative on the reduction of unintentionally released microplastics has been delayed; calls for the setting of clear targets and measures to prevent and minimise the release of microplastics into the environment in the upcoming proposal, covering both unintentional and intentional releases; considers that ecodesign requirements should favour fabrics that are provenbased on already available knowledge prone to release less microplastics; calls also for the setting of requirements to reduce the amount of microplastics released during industrial wet processing and washing and drying by industry and consumers; underlines that all microfibres that cannot safely biodegrade need to be prevented from reaching the environment through either design or collection;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Recalls that the transition to a well-being economy, which inter alia is conditioned upon the development of indicators measuring economic, social and environmental progress ‘beyond GDP’ is embedded in the EU’s 8th Environment Action Programme which entered into force on May 2 2022; recalls the 8th Environment Action Programme’s recognition that human wellbeing and prosperity depend on healthy ecosystems and significantly decreasing the Union’s material and consumption footprints; calls for a holistic wellbeing economy approach to the textile sector, to bring the sector back into alignment with planetary boundaries and focus on the wellbeing of people;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses the need to regulate all textile products under the Ecodesign Regulation, starting with garments and footwear as a priority; calls for the prioritization of textiles in the first working plan of the new ecodesign regulation, due to the high environmental impact and the potential contribution to achieving Union climate, environmental and resource security objectives;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Stresses that ecodesign requirements should address the textiles sector comprehensively across all product parameters covered by the Ecodesign Regulation, including parameters on material sourcing and on the social impact of textile products such as information on wages, unionisation, gender and working conditions; notes that measures such as improved resource efficiency are not sufficient as that these do not address the issue of overproduction and overconsumption of textiles and rebound effects due to increased efficiency;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Calls for ecodesign requirements for textiles to be set in line with the Union objectives in the fields of climate, including the objective to achieve climate neutrality at the latest by 2050, environment and biodiversity, energy efficiency, resource efficiency and security, and in particular the objective to significantly reduce the overall environmental and material footprints, including embodied emissions in materials, so as to bring them within planetary boundaries by 2050 at the latest, and other related objectives of the European Union as well as obligations pursuant to international agreements;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Calls for full traceability of chemicals used in the manufacturing processes and the disclosure of any hazardous or other substances of concern present in textiles through the Ecodesign Regulation and the Digital Product Passport; calls for performance requirements in the Ecodesign Regulation to also address chemical safety, since REACH only provides baseline protection for human health and the environment; calls for the ecodesign criteria to favour the use of environmentally friendly manufacturing processes (wet processes, cutting, dyeing, printing);
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Considers that consumption of new textiles, such as clothes, depends largely on the availability of the products and their pricing, and not only on the need to replace a product that is no longer functional; underlines in this regard that while longer product lifespans are essential, they alone will not solve the problems of overproduction; calls for the policy framework to take a holistic view of durability, including the emotional durability of textile products put on the market, which describes the garment design that takes into account long-term relevance and desirability to consumers; calls on the Commission and Member States to support the re-use sector as a strong alternative to purchasing new goods;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Highlights that not just products and materials, but also business models and the larger infrastructure, have to be designed to increase use, reuse and ultimately, as a last resort, high-quality recycling; stresses that existing circular business models do not reach their full environmental potential and that circular business models need to become the norm and replace, rather than complement, linear business models; calls for the establishment of metrics and benchmarks that demonstrate the environmental performance of the circular business model with policy incentives linked to these demonstrated impacts; calls on the Commission to assess favourable economic incentives to effectively scale such models;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Notes with concern the continued support for self-regulatory measures in the ecodesign regulation proposal, as such have so far failed to deliver comparable performance to genuine Ecodesign requirements; notes in this regard that they pose concerns with regard to the scope of the actors covered, for example the exclusion of manufacturers in third countries, and with regard to compliance; calls for self- regulatory measures in the context of the ecodesign regulation to be abandoned.
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 d (new)
Paragraph 13 d (new)
13d. Expresses concern that online market places and fulfilment service providers have limited responsibility compared to bricks-and-mortar shops and importers in the ecodesign regulation proposal, potentially creating a significant loophole for a huge share of the EU’s online sales of goods; asks that if no manufacturer or importer is established in the Union, online marketplaces shall by default assume the same responsibilities as an importer under the Ecodesign Regulation; asks that fulfilment service providers ensure that for products that they handle that are covered by a delegated act adopted pursuant to the ecodesign regulation, they only service products which comply with the delegated acts matching the obligations of importers;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 e (new)
Paragraph 13 e (new)
13e. Underlines the need to create economic incentives and the right regulatory environment for innovation in circular solutions, materials and business models, while at the same time eliminating market-distorting subsidies and environmentally harmful subsidies; calls for economic incentives such as CO2 pricing, extended producer responsibility with eco-modulation of fees and tax incentives promoting for example repair and the use of recycled content as well as other financial incentives promoting sustainable production;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 f (new)
Paragraph 13 f (new)
13f. Underlines that policies incentivising choice of fibre in textiles need to take into account the sustainable sourcing and entire life-cycle impacts of those fibres;
Amendment 231 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 g (new)
Paragraph 13 g (new)
13g. Supports the planned initiatives to improve the durability and reparability of products in accordance with the principle of waste prevention in the waste hierarchy, while strengthening consumer rights in both business-to-consumer and business-to-business markets; regrets the delay in the adoption of the European ‘right to repair’, which should cover at least the extended life cycle of products, access to spare parts and to comprehensive information and to affordable repair services for consumers;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 h (new)
Paragraph 13 h (new)
13h. Reiterates its call of 29 June 2020 for a paradigm shift for sustainable chemicals to implement the zero-pollution ambition for a toxic-free environment, ensuring a high level of protection of human health, the environment and effective protection of workers; reiterates its call to close the gaps in the current chemicals legal framework, giving priority to products consumers come into close and frequent contact with, such as textiles;
Amendment 234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 i (new)
Paragraph 13 i (new)
13i. Highlights that hazardous chemicals used in the manufacturing of textiles are harmful to workers and the environment and can remain in garments and household textiles exposing consumers; calls for stringent regulation and enforcement limiting the use of hazardous chemicals in the production process;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 j (new)
Paragraph 13 j (new)
13j. Reiterates that, as foreseen in the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, the EU should minimise the presence of substances of concern in textiles and ensure all textiles are safe und sustainable by design; calls on the Commission to ensure that by 2026 all hazardous chemicals are banned in textiles;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 k (new)
Paragraph 13 k (new)
13k. Regrets the slow implementation of the Chemicals Strategy; in particular, regrets the delay in the revision of the REACH Regulation; urges the Commission to adopt a proposal in the first half of 2023; calls for greater harmonisation of the REACH Regulation with the principles of the circular economy with regard to the specificities of the textile sector in order to prioritise efforts to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals, disclose information on chemicals used in finished products and ensure traceability;
Amendment 240 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 l (new)
Paragraph 13 l (new)
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 m (new)
Paragraph 13 m (new)
13m. Reaffirms that, in accordance with the waste hierarchy, prevention takes priority over recycling;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 n (new)
Paragraph 13 n (new)
13n. Strongly endorses a well- functioning EU market for high-quality, non-toxic secondary raw materials and underlines that this will require common quality standards including a clear definition for when textiles become waste; recognises that the current definition of waste creates barriers for circular business models such as reuse; deplores the fact that the Commission has not defined EU specific end-of-waste criteria for textiles, as had been required by the Waste Framework Directive;
Amendment 245 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 o (new)
Paragraph 13 o (new)
13o. Underlines the importance of developing non-toxic material cycles for the transition to a circular and climate- neutral economy; calls for the phase-out of substances of concern in order to strengthen secondary raw materials markets;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the intention of the Commission to set out harmonised EU rules on extended producer responsibility for textiles, with eco-modulation of fees as part of the revision of the Waste Framework Directive, and in particular that; considers that barriers to the single market can be removed by Union-wide EPR schemes; calls for the Commission to ensure that EPR schemes effectively enforce the waste hierarchy, including designing eco- modulation of fees in a way that ensures waste prevention; calls for including the costs for repair and manufacturing into the calculation of EPR fees; stresses that the EPR rules should, after reuse, reflect a clear priority for high-quality textile-to- textile recycling and only cascade textile materials into other materials when the former is not feasible; calls for the effective use of a significant proportion of the contributions made to extended producer responsibility schemes willto be used for waste prevention and preparation for re-use measures; and calls for the EPR schemes to support the activities of social enterprises active in used textiles management as well as to cover the costs of residual waste disposal following a preparation for re-use process; underlines the need to align eco-modulation with the Ecodesign Regulation, whereby mandatory criteria under the Ecodesign regulation should form the guiding principles and minimum bar and EPR fees can incentivise business to go further;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls for the Commission to ensure that online market places are covered by rules on extended producer responsibility, including the eco- modulation of fees and enforcement mechanisms;
Amendment 256 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14b. Calls for consideration of increased EPR fees when certain volume thresholds are reached so as to encourage brands to supply high quality and lower volumes of clothing into the market;
Amendment 263 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recalls that separate collection of textiles will be mandatory from 1 January 2025; underlines that the revision of the Waste Framework Directive planned for 2024 should considerintroduce specific separate targets for textile waste prevention, textile reuse, preparation for reuse, and recycling and promote social economy enterprises collecting and re-using textiles as a partner in the collection and waste management obligations and targets;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Agrees with the Commission that the production of clothing from recycled bottles is not consistent with the circular model for PET bottles and calls for extended producer responsibility schemes and other measures for textiles to incentivise investment in high-quality fibre-to-fibre recycling solutions and investments in sorting for reuse, ideally localand preparing for reuse and reuse activities, ideally local; calls for strict rules to be set in the Green Claims Initiative and the review of the EU Ecolabel criteria for textiles on claims made regarding the use of rPET;
Amendment 281 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Reaffirms its position that the export of waste to third countries should only be allowed when the receiving countries manage it under health and environmental protection standards that are equivalent to those of the EU, including the respect of international conventions on labour rights, and that all receiving facilities should be audited for environmentally sound management prior to exports; calls on the Commission to clarify that preparations for exports of worn clothing and other worn textiles should inter alia include pre-sorting;
Amendment 285 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
16b. Calls for preventive measure to ensure that the likely increase in collected textiles after the introduction of separate collection of textiles in 2025 does not lead to an increase in the export of used textiles to third countries, and that only pre-sorted textiles that have been approved by the recipient country can be exported;
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 c (new)
Paragraph 16 c (new)
16c. Highlights that as accounting and reporting purposes can vary between business, it is important that the definition of unsold consumer products include unsold products, excess inventory, surplus inventory, overstock, returns, dead stock and samples;
Amendment 288 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 d (new)
Paragraph 16 d (new)
16d. Regrets that about 20% of textile fibres become waste before they reach the end-consumer; considers that there is large uncertainty about the total amount of fibres discarded in the pre-consumer phase; calls on the Commission to introduce mandatory reporting requirements on pre-consumer waste;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Notes that certain multi- stakeholder initiatives and certifications or private labels concerning sustainability have shown shortcomings in the past, notes that important retailers were lately sanctioned for greenwashing in these types of initiatives; is concerned by the frequent and misleading use of unsubstantiated environmental claims and sustainability labels; considers that environmental claims should be prohibited when the claim is not based on science-based assessment tools; considers that sustainability labels should be pre- approved by a Union body or a national authority;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Expresses its regret that the proposal on substantiating environmental claims using standard product and organisationthird party lifecycle assessment of environmental footprinimpact methods has been delayed; calls on the Commission to publish the proposal without further delay ensuring that methods used to substantiate green claims in textiles are holistic, address relevant environmental and social impacts of textiles and are developed through independent processes; calls on the Commission to revise and reinforce the EU Ecolabel for textiles as a benchmark for the most sustainable textiles;
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Welcomes the development of Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules for apparel and footwear; highlights the need to include non- industry organisations in the development of such rules as well as to ensure transparency and accessibility of data; is concerned over currently missing environmental impact factors and emphasises that PEF currently does not provide a complete picture of sustainability and that communication of results of PEF analyses must reflect limitations;
Amendment 304 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Highlights the potential of the digital product passport to support full value chain coveragetraceability, transparency and facility disclosure as well as provision of environmental and social information as part of a coherent framework with corporate due diligence legislation on sustainability; calls on the Commission to require companies to use the digital product passport to publicly disclose and submit site information throughout their supply chains, as well as information on the use of materials and chemicals; calls for environmental, including climate and biodiversity, information to be complemented by information on social aspects and labour and working conditions and rights;
Amendment 314 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Underlines that an immediate ban on the destruction of unsold and returned textile goods should be enacted without delay under the Ecodesign Regulation; considers that full disclosure of the numbers of textile products placed on the market every year and of unsold textile products is necessary; and should aim at reducing production in the first place; considers that one year after the entry into force of the ecodesign regulation, the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear by economic operators shall be prohibited, due to the nature and popularity of fast-fashion retail causing high volumes of surplus and excess inventory, overstock and deadstock as well as returns, which lead to frequent destruction of perfectly usable textiles; considers that full disclosure of the numbers of textile products placed on the market every year and of unsold textile products is necessary; highlights that SMEs should not be exempt from requirements regarding unsold goods, as they represent a significant share of the EU textile sector;
Amendment 326 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20a. Stresses that the textile sector is plagued by a broad range of labour rights abuses, including poverty wages, wage theft, undue limitation to the right to join or form a union of choosing, child labour, forced labour, exposure to unsafe working conditions and sexual harassment; requests concrete actions to address these issues;
Amendment 329 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Highlights in this regard that the due diligence legislation as proposed by the Commission only covers 1% of EU companies and that as the largest garment brands do not dominate the garment industry the way the largest brands do in highly concentrated industries and therefore that SMEs need to be included in order for the legislation to be effective; highlights that important conventions, multilateral agreements and human rights instruments relevant to the textile companies’ impacts need to be included in the Annex and that the current list is too limited; emphasises that the requirements need to cover the whole value chain with integrated gender analyses as well environmental, including climate and biodiversity, criteria such as the full implementation of the Paris Agreement, the impact of chemical use on the local environment, the implementation of core ILO conventions and purchasing practices in order to be an effective instrument for the realisation of workers’ rights in the textile sector; underlines that, given the prevalence of forced labour within the textile and garment sector, this Directive should complement the upcoming forced labour legislation;
Amendment 331 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)
Paragraph 24 b (new)
24b. Calls for the inclusion of social and labour standards as well as due diligence requirements as part of the criteria in the proposed ecodesign regulation and its compliance registered in digital product passports; is concerned about the unholistic and limited picture of product impact that the development of criteria to substantiate green claims would create if it does not consider social and gender related impacts, emphasises that such a narrow view of product sustainability is not in line with the EU’s commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals, nor the European Green Deal;
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 c (new)
Paragraph 24 c (new)
24c. Highlights that, in order for the digital product passport to be an effective instrument in improving social gender unequal aspects of the textile sector, it should go beyond containing information on due diligence and should also include disclosure of full product information covering the whole value chain, the existence in factories of trade unions and collective bargaining, and information on wage levels and working hours; the information on the digital product passport should be accessible to all parties and based on a common database that other stakeholders can also contribute to;
Amendment 333 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 d (new)
Paragraph 24 d (new)
24d. Calls on the EU to support efforts to prevent gender-based violence in the textile sector by committing to the ratification and implementation of the ILO Convention 190 on Ending Violence and Sexual Harassment in the World of Work;
Amendment 336 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Regrets that the strategy does not envisage any action against the harmful purchasing practices of companies; points out that according to the International Labour Organization, the current power imbalance between garment buyers and their suppliers causes overproduction and exploitation of workers in the industry11 ; considers that unfair purchasing practices such as last minute changes in design or lead times, unilateral amendments to contracts and last minute cancellation of orders should be banned for companies active in the single market through a revision of existing legislation; calls for legislation to combat unfair trading practices in the textile sector, taking inspiration from and learning from the experience of the implementation of Directive 2019/633 on unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain, including its provisions for enforcement, which takes take into account the “fear factor” of suppliers when raising complaints; __________________ 11 https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public /---ed_protect/---protrav/--- travail/documents/publication/wcms_5611 41.pdf
Amendment 344 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Underlines that the transition to a more sustainable and circular ecosystem within the textile industry offers the opportunity to improve the working conditions and remuneration of workers, who will play a central role in the transition; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure the provision of sectoral training and education in the field of sustainable textiles to safeguard current jobs, improve worker satisfaction and ensure the availability of a skilled workforce support social economy actors, including social enterprises active in circular activities, in their reskilling and upskilling activities;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Recognises that while the transformation of the sector will create new jobs with new skills requirements, these might not appear where other types of jobs will be lost, and that current training is insufficient to prepare workers for the future roles needed; agrees that updating the European Skills Agenda can be an important tool to create the right skill set for the circular and sustainable textile industry; emphasises that proactive social dialogue to assess skills needs and employment challenges and to design training is key to properly address the social impact and to create a robust transformation of the industry; highlights the strong risk of perpetuating existing job quality concerns in circular roles, where marginalised and disenfranchised groups including informal, women and migrant workers are overrepresented; calls therefore for the Commission and Member States to deliberately include positive social outcomes into the transition in all relevant legislation;
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on the Commission to ensure a level playing field for products produced and consumed within the EU and those exported or imported by increasing global standards; considers that the Union should ensure that trade agreements and preference programmes, such as the Generalised Scheme of Preferences, are used as levers to promote sustainable development, human rights, labour rights and fair and ethical trade around the world, and to improvensure the responsibility of value chains;
Amendment 354 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Regrets that the strategy only envisages the introduction of mandatory criteria for green public procurement, as the production of textile products is infamously interlinked with systematic violations of labour and human rights, and public procurement can be used as a tool to support sustainable development and mitigate risks in global supply chains; calls on the Ecodesign for sustainable product regulation to include mandatory requirements for both green and socially responsible public procurement as well as to revise the EU/2014/24 Public Procurement Directive to align with the obligations of the upcoming CSDD directive and expectations of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;