Exports of used clothing displace more than 20% of European textile waste to low-income countries. Paris means stop
Exports of used clothing fill landfills in the global South instead of supplying the circular economy
(sustainabilityenvironment.com) – France is pushing at the European level for a ban on exports of used clothing. This was stated by the Ministry of the Environment to the Reuters news agency. The problem of textile waste is objectively serious, moreover, with the EU among the main exporters to low-income countries.
There has been a huge increase in exports of used clothing from the EU over the last 20 years. Between 2000 and 2019, the quantity almost tripled from 550,000 tonnes to almost 1.7 million tonnes. Data collected by the European Environment Agency (EEA) declined in 2022 (1.4 million tonnes). But the increase is still significant. Far from the eyes, far from the heart is philosophy. But textile waste can cause pollution in African countries where items cannot be resold and end up in landfills.
In total, Europe produces 5.2 million tonnes of clothing and footwear waste every year, according to the European Commission. Together with Sweden and Denmark, which support the proposal, France aims to discuss it at a meeting of the Environment Ministers’ Council in Brussels on 25 March. The Ministry, reports Reuters, wants to give a further shoulder to the phenomenon of “fast fashion”, which would encourage a casual approach to disposable consumers.
If the proposal is taken forward, it will not be easy for the EU to manage. Textiles are still being recycled too little and will continue to be so for a long time. If there is no possibility of dumping waste in the poorest countries, the implementation of management systems must be speeded up drastically. The circular economy of the sector is almost non-existent, with the first consortia born only in recent months. But in proposing shock therapies the French are masters. Who knows that this time we have not seen right.
