Europe’s textile leaders form PRO forum to harmonize EPR approaches

Desk Report

4 days ago

Leading Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) and business associations have come together to launch the Textile PRO Forum, a groundbreaking voluntary initiative aimed at harmonizing and enhancing the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles and footwear across Europe.

This initiative comes at a crucial time as the European Union approaches the mandatory separate collection of textile waste and finalizes revisions to the Waste Framework Directive. EPR schemes are now central to Europe’s strategy for achieving sustainability and circularity in the textile industry.

However, with EPR models set to vary significantly across the 27 EU Member States due to differences in national legislation, market conditions, and infrastructure, the challenge lies in ensuring efficiency and reducing complexity for businesses. The Textile PRO Forum addresses this challenge by fostering collaboration, harmonization, and the exchange of best practices among key stakeholders.

Key Objectives of the Textile PRO Forum

The Forum, initiated by Refashion (the first PRO for textiles) and EURATEX (the European Textile and Apparel Confederation), is coordinated by EURATEX and will focus on the following strategic workstreams:

Reducing administrative burdens for businesses operating across different Member States.
Harmonizing eco-modulation fees, as mandated by legislation.
Supporting recycling initiatives to improve the circularity of textiles.
Establishing frameworks for PRO creation and expansion, ensuring robust and effective EPR systems.