Policies and Products of Change

On 23rd April, in line with Fashion Revolution and Earth Week, FEL CEO, Jenny Holloway joined Mark Edridge from Bluesign Technologies for a highly informative Products of Change webinar.

Mark presented a deep dive into all the relevant and upcoming legislation surrounding the UK and European fashion, apparel, and textiles scene. It feels like it’s been a long time coming…but the industry is on the brink of some major changes.

According to EU Regulations:

“By 2030 all textile products placed on the EU market are durable, repairable and recyclable, to a great extent made of recycled fires, free of hazardous substances and produced in respect of social rights and the environment.”

The industry; retailers, brands and suppliers need reevaluate their business models and  prepare to adapt to all the regulations and policies that are in the pipeline. This sentiment was echoed at last week’s informal roundtable with Labour MP Catherine West and at 10 Downing Street and the UK brand and manufacturers matchmaking event.

Four key elements: EU Green Deal Legislation

1. Green Claims Directive – any environmental claims must be: “verified by an impartial, third-party assessment body” and “formally accredited by a nationally recognised certifying entity.”
2. Textile Labelling Rules – Aligns rules and diverging labelling requirements to: ensure accurate, intelligible and comparable information to consumers.
3. Waste Framework Directive – A mandatory and harmonised Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles and provide incentives for producers to increase the circularity of products and introduce rules to manage textile waste.
4. Eco-design or Sustainable Products Regulation – Certified reporting of circularity and environmental impacts inform the consumer to make better choices and return end-of-life materials to the supply chain.

Tap here to find out more about the Products of Change community and here Products of Change members can watch the webinar here.