The Civil Society Shadow European Strategy for Sustainable Textile, Garments, Leather and Footwear
65 civil society organisations, one joint vision for a fair and sustainable textile sector. The global Textile, Garments, Leather and Footwear (TGLF) sector has long been characterised by labour rights and human rights abuses along with the immense pressure it exerts on our environment and climate.
As the European Commission is poised to start developing a new ‘comprehensive strategy for textiles’ in the coming months, a group of 65 diverse civil society organisations, have come together to set out their vision for a fair and sustainable TGLF sector. They have done so by releasing a non-official (or “shadow”) strategy in which they propose a set of legislative and non-legislative actions that the EU can undertake to contribute to fairer and more sustainable TGLF value chains.
The group– a broad coalition of campaigners for fair trade, human and workers’ rights, environmental protection, and transparency- is calling on the European Commission, MEPs, and EU governments to back this ambitious strategy and kick-start a global re-design of the textile industry’s broken business model.
The strategy has gained the support of Members of the European Parliament Delara Burkhardt (S&D), Heidi Hautala (Greens/EFA), and Helmut Scholz (GUE/NGL) who have addressed a joint letter to all the Members of the European Parliament in support of the ‘Civil Society Shadow Strategy’.
The civil society vision for a comprehensive EU Textile Strategy contains recommendations to promote a TGLF industry that respects human rights, creates decent jobs and adheres to high social and environmental standards throughout its value chain.

EU Textile Regulation sets requirements for information about fibre composition in labels on textile products, but currently does not provide information on a product’s environmental impact. The 2018 revision of the Waste Framework Directive introduced an obligation for separate collection of textiles by 2025. Additionally, the voluntary EU Ecolabel scheme covers a wide range of product groups, including textile products, by providing certification to producers who meet certain environmental criteria. Public Authorities can also play a role in fostering sustainable and fair consumption patterns, and EU Green Public Procurement criteria help public authorities to include sustainability requirements in their tenders. Furthermore, current VAT rules allow for reduced rate for repair of footwear and clothes.

To deal with the enormous amount of textiles waste generated in the EU, two solutions are crucial, and complementary: the first priority should be waste prevention (lifetime extension, repair and re-use of textile products), followed by recycling. Therefore, the Commission will establish a quantitative target for the total reduction of textile waste in the EU. Simultaneously, the Commission will stimulate high-quality, textile-to-textile recycling, to reduce the resource use for the production of virgin fibres and yarns.