40 Amendments of Jessica POLFJÄRD related to 2022/2171(INI)
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas synthetic and man-made fibres already account for more thannearly two thirds (7064 %)6 of total global fibre production; __________________ 6 https://textileexchange.org/app/uploads/20 22/10/Textile-Exchange_PFMR_2022.pdf
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the European textile sector as of 2022 had an annual turnover of 147 billion with 58 billion euros in exports and 106 billion euros in imports; whereas the textile sector employs 1,3 million European citizens; whereas this industry is made up of approximately 143 thousand European companies, of which 11% are Small or Medium-sized Enterprises, and 88,8% are Micro enterprises with less than 10 employees1a; __________________ 1a https://euratex.eu/wp- content/uploads/EURATEX_FactsKey_Fi gures_2022rev-1.pdf
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission communication on an EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles and the vision it presents for 2030; stresses that actions following the publication of the Strategy should be fully aligned with the Union’s Industrial Strategy, as well as its climate and environmental objectives, in particular that of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest and of halting and reversing biodiversity loss;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls on the Commission to identify and monitor the policies affecting the textile industry to ensure transparency, coherence and after implementation to assess the impact of the policies on the textile industries’ combined impact on climate, environment, health and social aspects. Stresses the need to secure policy coherence among the policy measures identified in the EU Strategy and the need to ensure harmonisation at the EU level, including on data requirements and methodologies to calculate the environmental and carbon footprint of products;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Acknowledges the urgency of ensuring that textile products placed on the EU market are long-lived, reusable and recyclable, and free of hazardous substances; expresshave a long serviceable lifetime, are reusable, recyclable, repairable and free of hazardous substances and prioritise the use of renewable raw materials; acknowledges with the current technologies producers are often faced with trade-offs to achieve the desired attributes in one product; calls for the Commission alongside Member States, industry and research institutions to continue, encourage and fund research into the trade-offs inherent in making textile products that have a long serviceable lifetime, and are reusable, recyclable, repairable and free of hazardous substances and prioritise the use of renewable raw materials; notes its concern that the measures identified in the EU Strategy might not be sufficient to fulfil the 2030 objective and calls on the Commission to ensure all necessary measures, including additional measures to those identified in the strategy, are taken to achieve the 2030 vision;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Acknowledges that the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles embraces the wider textile ecosystem and may have direct and indirect impacts on other materials used in garment and footwear; therefore, stresses the importance of clearly defining the scope of application of all pieces of legislation that will be adopted under the strategy, in order to ensure legal certainty and predictability for business operators in the Single Market, especially SMEs;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses the need to support SME´s in the textile industry in moving away from linear business models and unsustainable practices with respect to both climate, environment, health and social issues; calls on the Commission and the Member States to create a predictable, harmonised, relevant and seamless legal framework, which should be implemented with attention ensuring sufficient implementation time; notes the need for the Commission and Member States to facilitate access to skilled workers with relevant circular competences; calls on the Commission in collaboration with Member States and stakeholders to share best practices examples of circular economy business models in the textile industry, draw on the experience in from European Stakeholder Platform for Circular Economy;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Highlights the need to ensure coherence with the green and digital twin transition and exploit the synergies with the EU’s Industrial Strategy to ensure the transition to sustainable and circular business models, while strengthening the competitiveness and resilience of EU textile ecosystems.
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Draws attention to the fact that imports of non-compliant products sold through online platforms and other digital services are widespread, and calls on those service providers to ensure that the textile products they sell comply with EU law; Urges the Commission to ensure a clear framework on the question of liability in EU legislation and to ensure that online platforms and digital services cannot facilitate the import of non-compliant textile products to the internal market.
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Stresses that textiles are the fourth biggest contributor to climate change from an EU consumption perspective, and that the industry’s emissions are only expected to increase9 ; calls for further legislation to fully decarbonise the industry, starting with a common definition and categorisation of textiles, more transparency on scope 3 emissions in textile supply chains and the consideration of phasing in requirements for SMEs; calls for ambitious science- based targets to be set by 2024in consultation with stakeholders for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the textiles sector, based on a common definition and categorisation of textiles at the EU level, covering their entire lifecycle, in line with the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures; recalls that around 70 % of the emissions related to the Union’s textile consumption take place outside of the EU10 ; calls for more robust information and disclosure on the impacts on biodiversityand calls on the Commission, the EEAS and EU Member States to provide relevant and cost effective support to third countries and suppliers in those countries to decarbonise textile supply chains; calls for more robust information and disclosure on the impacts on biodiversity; calls for the development at European level of 'Textile Hubs', i.e. innovative research centres and disposal plants, for the sorting and recovery of pre- and post-consumer waste, turning waste into value and creating new jobs in textile manufacturing districts; __________________ 9 https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular- economy/pdf/new_circular_economy_actio n_plan.pdf 10 https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/tex tiles-in-europes-circular-economy
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes the fact that the strategy makes a link between fast fashion and the use of fossil fuel-based synthetic fibres, which in turn has major implications for microplastic pollution; highlights the fact that synthetic fibres are also essential in the manufacturing of technical textiles alongside many other textile categories and therefore will play a role in the innovation of the industry related to making products durable; points out that microplastics release climate pollutants such as methane and ethylene into the environment, contributing to climate change, and that microplastics undermine the resilience of the ocean and the environment in general; calls on the Commission to continue its support into research assessing the impact of microplastics and microfibers shedding in general;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls for the continued collection of data on how microfibres from the textile industry impacts health, environment and climate; urges the Commission to consult research institutions and stakeholders before setting of clear targets and measures to prevent and minimise the release of microplastics into the environment, covering both unintentional and intentional releases; considers that ecodesign requirements should favour fabrics that are proven to release less microplastics; calls also for the setting of requirements to reduce the amount of microplastics released during industrial wet processing and washing and drying by industry and consumers;
Amendment 174 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Stresses the need for the Commission alongside Member States to develop policies supporting new circular business models;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Recalls that 20 % of global water pollution comes from dyeing and finishing textile products1a; calls for measures promoting water efficiency, circular management and reuse of water in the textile industry; stresses the need for more research into the development of alternatives to the conventional use of chemicals, water reuse through the development of wastewater treatment technologies, and to reduce energy and water consumption in the production process; __________________ 1a https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/te xtiles-in-europes-circular-economy
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses the need to regulate all textile products under the Ecodesign Regulation, starting with garments and footwear as a priority; calls on the Commission to consider the difference in textile product categories when developing the delegated acts to ensure all stakeholders in the industry have clarity on how their product is regulated
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Calls for the Commission, Member States and industry stakeholders to shape their understanding and continue working on making textiles circular by design, taking note of the New European Bauhaus and the potential and need for an EU evidence-based design methodology across creative industries to boost valid and trustworthy innovation and understanding of the often complex nature of sustainability; highlights that an evidence-based design methodology should ensure that the production and waste management of textile products is based on scientific research in order to achieve a circular economy and improve health of consumers;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Stresses that ecodesign requirements should address the textiles sector comprehensively across product parameters; notes that measures such as improved resource efficiency are not sufficient as that these do not addressjust one element in the transition to a circular economy and the issue of overproduction and overconsumption of textiles;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for the ecodesign requirements for textiles to set horizontal requirements swiftly, targeting a comprehensive group of products starting with garments and footwear, and later, when neededfrom the beginning of the implementation , to focus on differentiated requirements between different textile product groups; calls on ecodesign requirements to be published in a timely manner so the industry has time to become compliant; recognises that garment and footwear products not composed mainly of textile fibres shall be addressed through separate product groups, given the difference in their production process and consumer use, compared to textile products;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Considers that consumption of new textiles, such as clothes, depends largelyon many factors including on the availability of the products and their pricing, and not only on the need to replace a product that is no longer functional; calls for the policy framework to take a holistic view of durability, including both physical durability and the emotional durability of textile products put on the market, which describes elements such as the garment design that takes into account long-term relevance and desirability to consumers; , enduring style, adjustable fit, repairability, economic value, personal history that takes into account long-term relevance and desirability to consumers; acknowledges the difficulty of measuring emotional durability; encourages the Commission and Member States to make it a feature in its awareness raising campaigns and programmes aimed at both consumers and designers; encourages the Commission and Member States to develop tools for stronger investments of research into how emotional durability can be measured and further how it is tied to the health of consumers, especially mental health;
Amendment 213 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Welcomes the intention of the Commission to revise the Textile Labelling Regulation; calls on the Commission to further clarify and ease the classification process to apply for new fibre composition names for novel and distinctive materials;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 c (new)
Paragraph 13 c (new)
13c. Calls on the Commission to assess the impact of legacy chemicals in secondary raw materials based on sound scientific assessment and address it in alignment with the existing EU chemicals legislation;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 d (new)
Paragraph 13 d (new)
13d. Emphasises the role the digital product passport can play to enable greater circularity of textiles by making data more accessible and transparent along the supply chain down to the sorters and recyclers.
Amendment 249 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Welcomes the intention of the Commission to set out harmonised EU rules on extended producer responsibility for textiles, with eco-modulation of fees as part of the revision of the Waste Framework Directive, and in particular that a significant proportion of the contributions made to extended producer responsibility schemes will be used for waste prevention and preparation for re-use measures; and recycling measures; calls on the Commission to ensure consistency between the eco-modulation of extended producer responsibility fees and ecodesign requirements;
Amendment 252 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Recalls that the measures outlined in the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles focus principally on the product and its design as well as end-of- life strategies; suggests that a more comprehensive EPR model which captures product lifetime and volume, together with the costs of reuse and recycling, can address overproduction, increase circularity and significantly reduce the environmental impacts of textiles; underlines that it is crucial that extended producer responsibility rules are effective and impactful from a sustainability and business perspective, and that rules are harmonised EU-wide;
Amendment 257 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recalls that separate collection of textiles will be mandatory from 1 January 2025; and underlines the need to ensure an environmentally sound management of the collected textiles; encourages the Commission to monitor the Member States that have implemented separate collection before 1st of January 2025 to learn best practices and identify possible issues related to harmonisation of sorting and collection practices at EU-level; underlines that the revision of the Waste Framework Directive planned for 2024 should consider specific separate and phased targets for textile waste prevention, textile reuse, preparation for reuse, and recycling; as part of the Extended Producer Responsibility; stresses the need for reliable and standardized information that can be used to track progress and identify gaps in achieving the above targets and goals.
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Stresses that reliable data and realistic benchmarks are needed in the establishment of the targets for textile waste prevention, collection, reuse, preparation for reuse, and recycling; underlines that clear and realistic targets and measures to implement and enforce a transparent treatment of waste textiles to enforce these targets are essential; highlights the need to create strong incentives for recycling that trigger the demand-side and create a stable and open market for recyclers; calls for a boost in sorting and recycling infrastructure through research and investments; recalls that shipments of waste are essential for the re-looping of secondary raw materials in the economy; underlines the importance of harmonised end-of-waste criteria and waste definition for textiles;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Takes note that across Europe, used clothing, footwear and other textile products are often discarded in the same container, due to e.g. waste infrastructure and consumer behaviour. Recalls that under the current legislative framework for shipments of waste, this constitutes a mixture of waste for which barriers to shipments are set up. Highlights that removing these barriers could facilitate the recycling of textile waste. Recalls the position of the European Parliament on the Regulation on Shipments of Waste (A9-0290/2022), which calls on the Commission to assess as a priority the possibility of considering mixtures of waste such as used footwear, clothing and other textile products as well as mattresses as ‘greenlisted’, thereby facilitating the shipments and recycling of this waste;
Amendment 278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Agrees with the Commission that the production of clothing from recycled bottles is not consistent with the circular model for PET bottles and calls for extended producer responsibility schemesCalls for extended producer responsibility schemes for textiles and other ad hoc measures to incentivise research, innovation, investments in and other meas scale up of infrastructures for textiles to incentivise investment in fibre-to-fibre recycling solutionshigh- quality manual and automatic composition sorting, fibre-to-fibre recycling solutions that allow the separation and recycling of mixed materials and the decontamination of waste streams, and investments in sorting for reuse, ideally local;
Amendment 290 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Welcomes the initiative to empower consumers with regard to the green transition and the resulting EU rules that should ensure that consumers receive information at the point of sale on a commercial durability guarantee for textile products, as well as relevant information on their reparability; and their end-of life management and production year of the product;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Expresses its regret that the proposal on substantiating environmental claims using standard product and organisation environmental footprint methods has been delayed; calls on the Commission to publish the proposal without further delayupdate the product environmental footprint method (PEF) to make it fit for purpose in line with the European Commission’s Green Deal ambitions, prior to using it to substantiate green claims, as there are limitations with the current PEF methodology omitting or downplaying crucial product impacts and to develop a green claims and product environmental footprint category rules architecture that treats apparel and footwear products made from natural and man-made materials appropriately through consistent science based lifecycle comparisons;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Highlights the potential of the digital product passport to support full value chain coverage as part of a coherent framework withaligned with the legislation on corporate due diligence legislation on sustainability; calls on the Commission to require companies to use the digital product passport to disclose and submit in a transparent manner, site information throughout their supply chains, as well as information on the year of manufacture, use of materials and chemicals; calls for environmental information to be complemented by information on social aspects and labour and working conditions, which must by definition necessarily reach the end of life of the product and the waste managers to enable a circular treatment of waste textiles; asks that the Commission and Member States ensure that the information provided is relevant, accurate and up-to-date, and that the information can be easily accessible and usable for EPR, consumers and stakeholders along the supply chain; calls on the Commission in the implementation of this ambitious tool to introduce a phased approach where SMEs and especially micro-enterprises are given a longer implementation period and to support them to ensure full compliance with the regulation ; calls on the Commission to take note of the many ongoing studies and research projects related to the EU digital product passport and ensuring it is aligned with relevant legislation; calls on the Commission to establish clear and harmonized requirements for a EU digital product;
Amendment 312 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Emphasises the importance of the development of a EU digital product passport for textiles to provide clear, structured and accessible information on the sustainability characteristics of products to the business ecosystem of textiles; stresses the importance to differentiate between key and potential users of a digital product passport; stresses the prospective benefits in terms of transparency, supply chain accuracy, waste reduction and enabling potential for new business models based on reuse, second hand and re-sale;
Amendment 313 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Emphasises the need for accurate information on textile products’ material and chemical composition to ensure their correct sorting and recycling.
Amendment 315 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Underlines that an immediate ban on the destruction of unsold and returned textile goods should be enacted without delay under the Ecodesign Regulationwith significant negative environmental impact should be enacted under the Ecodesign Regulation; underlines that relevant exceptions should established to this ban, to accommodate e.g. the necessary destruction of harmful textile goods; underlines also that a sound definition of ‘destruction’ must be established to ensure legal clarity about options for managing unsold goods; considers that full disclosure of the numbers of textile products placed on the market every year and of unsold textile products is necessary;
Amendment 328 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Highlights that negative environmental impacts and social impacts in supplier countries cannot be avoided through due diligence legislation alone; calls on the Commission to provide additional support for local actors in partner countries and to take additional legislative measures to address these impacts in countries outside the EU; underlines the need to organise and implement a better and harmonised surveillance of the internal market to prevent the import of counterfeited and/or unsafe textile products in order to safeguard the consumers and the environment;
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. RegretNotes that the strategy does not envisage any action against the harmful purchasing practices of companies; points outtakes note that according to the International Labour Organization, the current power imbalance between garment buyers and their suppliers causes overproduction and exploitation of workers in the industry11 ; considers that unfair purchasing practices such as last minute changes in design or lead times, unilateral amendments to contracts and last minute cancellation of orders should be banned for companies active in the single market through a revision of existing legislationwelcomes the potential for establishing new mutually beneficial trade agreements, and strengthening existing trade relationships, to support the creation of jobs and economic growth in both the EU and among trade partners; __________________ 11 https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public /---ed_protect/---protrav/--- travail/documents/publication/wcms_5611 41.pdf
Amendment 340 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Underlines that the transition to a more sustainable and circular ecosystem within the textile industry offers the opportunity to improve the working conditions and remunerationcompetences of workers, who will play a central role in the transition; recalls that the transition to a circular economy of the textile industry also presents a significant potential for the creation of new green jobs with the upskilling and reskilling of the existing labour force; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure the provision of sectoral training and education in the field of sustainable textiles to safeguard current jobs, improve worker satisfaction and ensure the availability of a skilled workforce; encourages the Commission to consult relevant industry stakeholders, including suppliers and producers from outside the EU about which skills and competences are in demand;
Amendment 355 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Call on the Commission and Member States to step up the support for innovation in the textile industry related to inventing new raw materials to make clothing and textiles in general more circular and sustainable in the sense of climate and environmental impacts; moreover the technological innovation needed in the industry should look at how textiles can help to improve the health of consumers by providing information directly to the owner of a product;
Amendment 357 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 b (new)
Paragraph 24 b (new)
24b. Clothing especially represents a significant cultural value for all citizens of the Union, and the transition to a circular economy should recognize this, while redefining it through research and innovation.
Amendment 358 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 c (new)
Paragraph 24 c (new)
24c. Calls on the Commission in reference to the European Climate Law (2021/1119) to facilitate sector-specific climate dialogues and partnerships with textile stakeholders to encourage the drawing up of voluntary roadmaps; These roadmaps could be a helpful tool in planning investments in the sector and strengthen sectoral engagement in the transition to a circular economy;