Producers of clothing, footwear, accessories and household textiles must become responsible for products discarded by consumers, which means they must pay for their sustainable and circular processing, Mariska Boer, Chair of the Textiles Division of EuRIC Textiles (European Recycling Industries' Confederation), said on Wednesday at a specialist conference in Bucharest.

'Recycling Europe Textiles is the textile branch of Recycling Europe. Recycling Europe itself covers many different waste streams, including packaging, glass and metals. I would say they are the strongest voice in Brussels, advising and guiding policymakers in developing policies for different waste streams. What we have seen in recent years is that textiles are gaining increasing importance. We always say that there is a tsunami of legislation coming our way that will affect all of us in our daily activities. So, the textile branch promotes, of course, the collective interests of the reuse and recycling industry in Europe. At present, we have 26 active members and partners. The principle is that producers of clothing, footwear, accessories and household textiles become responsible for textiles once they are discarded by consumers, and being responsible means that they have to pay for the sustainable and circular processing of these discarded textiles. They pay per kilogramme of textiles they place on the market,' explained the co-owner of Boer Group, a company involved in the collection, sorting and recycling of textiles across Europe.

She also pointed out that charging for textiles placed on the market would make producers more responsible for product quality.

'The idea behind this is that we will have fewer low-quality articles on the market and more better-quality and recyclable articles. This is important because it will provide collectors and sorters with stable funding to maintain the industry, to maintain the collection and sorting system as we know it today. It is not yet optimal, but it is also under great pressure, so there is certainly a need for funding there. It will also push producers to produce and design more sustainably and for greater recyclability. As with any European legislation, it takes a very, very, very long time before it becomes effectively applicable. EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) started in 2025 and in May 2028 we expect to see operational schemes across the European Union. So, all producers, including those selling online and sellers from outside the EU, should pay eco-modulated fees to finance collection, sorting and recycling. We do not see this as a silver bullet, but we believe it should be complemented by other pieces of legislation in order to truly have an impact on the circularity of the value chain,' Boer said.

According to the expert, stable and transparent funding for collection, sorting, reuse and recycling operators should automatically include automation and innovation financed through EPR.

'This is important for recycling, for sorting for recycling, because we still have a lot of development to do in this area in order to be able to successfully sort discarded clothing at fibre level and provide good feedstock for recyclers. In order to maintain sorting for reuse for second-hand markets here in Europe, we need to automate. We need to reduce costs, because we also have to compete with ultra-fast fashion players, which I am sure is quite a serious problem here in Romania as well. We need to reduce costs and keep second-hand prices sufficiently attractive for consumers to continue buying. Last but not least, in inclusive governance, we recommend that there should be a good representation of the entire value chain, meaning that collectors and sorters should be included alongside producers. There should also be equal treatment for all operators, including social enterprises, without differences in treatment,' the EuRIC Textiles representative stressed.

The Coalition for the Circular Economy (CERC), in partnership with the Romanian Association for Textile Reuse and Recycling (ARETEX), Recycling Europe - Textile Branch, and the Bulgarian Association for Circular Textiles (BACT), is organising the international conference 'Textile Material Circularity: A Safe, Waste-Free Future' on Wednesday. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Badea; EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)