Fast fashion undermines the circular textiles value chain

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Summary

Since 1 July 2023, the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) has been responsible for overseeing compliance with the extended producer responsibility (EPR) for textiles in the Netherlands. In 2024, the ILT explored the circular state of the clothing supply chain and found that textiles present significant risks to people and the environment. While this may not always be apparent, the textile industry is one of the most polluting supply chains with a substantial impact on the environment.

Fast fashion undermines the objectives of a circular economy. Clothing is increasingly becoming a "disposable product", resulting in the loss of raw materials and a lack of circularity. Fast fashion further displaces second-hand clothing from the market. Meanwhile, high-value recycling of the growing stream of non-reusable clothing has barely taken hold.

Companies engaged in the collection, sorting and high-value recycling of clothing are barely able to keep their heads above water and are going out of business. The current EPR for textiles does not yet provide sufficient incentives for circular production and high-value waste processing. There is barely any demand for raw materials made from recycled textiles.

Economically vulnerable countries in the Global South are flooded with used clothing from the European Union (EU) and other high-income regions. There is no clearly defined EU assessment framework under which used clothing can realistically be considered rewearable and resaleable for export.

How discarded clothing is processed when it becomes waste in such countries is a blind spot in current EPR schemes. Waste management contributions collected from the sale of new products in the Netherlands are not used for the countries where second-hand products from the Netherlands eventually reach the end of their life. 

In short, circularity in the clothing supply chain has ground to a halt. A systemic change is needed to achieve structural sustainability in the clothing supply chain. This change requires active involvement from all parties in the supply chain: producers, retailers, sorting companies, recyclers, governments, financial institutions and consumers. As long as the negative impact on people and the environment is not reflected in clothing prices, circular clothing will not get a fair chance. Tariff differentiation, as facilitated through the EPR, could play a positive role in this.

In a circular supply chain, every party bears responsibility for sustainability. This means clothing is consumed less as a "disposable product", is produced sustainably, lasts longer, and is repairable or recyclable. It also means clothing contains recycled material from old clothing, is free from harmful substances, and can be processed in a responsible or high-value manner in the end-of-life stage, regardless of where and when this occurs.

The ILT, as one of the involved parties, focuses its oversight on circularity in the supply chain. In addition to prioritising oversight based on EPR, it also exercises its powers through the European Waste Shipment Regulation (EWSR) and ecodesign legislation in its regulatory capacity for the environment and transport. 

In this way, the ILT holds parties in the supply chain accountable and contributes to circularity in the textiles value chain. This occurs parallel to the further development of Dutch and EU policies, as described in the new Policy Programme for Circular Textiles 2025-2030.