Urgent action needed to address the EU's textile crisis

Ahead of the Environment Council meeting on 17 June, RREUSE is sounding the alarm about the worsening crisis in the used and waste textile sector, urging action in an open letter to national governments and EU27 Deputy Ambassadors.

Since the introduction of the EU-wide obligation to separately collect textiles in January 2025, many Member States remain unprepared. Collection systems are either lacking or under-resourced, and essential funding mechanisms have yet to materialise. As a result, social enterprises managing textile flows are being pushed to the brink, with warehouses at capacity, reuse markets saturated, and growing volumes of reusable clothing sent to incineration due to the lack of viable options.

In our letter, we call for urgent, coordinated action to safeguard the social and environmental infrastructure that has been built over decades by social enterprises. Specifically, the letter calls on national authorities to:

• Urgently place the textile crisis on the agenda of the June Environment Council. 
• Support the immediate adoption of an EU-level Textile Emergency Action Plan (TEAP).
• Ensure that this burning issue is addressed, and funding unlocked, by the EU27 national governments.