abusesaffiliationarrow-downarrow-leftarrow-rightarrow-upattack-typeburgerchevron-downchevron-leftchevron-rightchevron-upClock iconclosedeletedevelopment-povertydiscriminationdollardownloademailenvironmentexternal-linkfacebookfiltergenderglobegroupshealthC4067174-3DD9-4B9E-AD64-284FDAAE6338@1xinformation-outlineinformationinstagraminvestment-trade-globalisationissueslabourlanguagesShapeCombined Shapeline, chart, up, arrow, graphLinkedInlocationmap-pinminusnewsorganisationotheroverviewpluspreviewArtboard 185profilerefreshIconnewssearchsecurityPathStock downStock steadyStock uptagticktooltiptwitteruniversalityweb
Story

6 May 2020

EU: 65 civil society organisations publish joint strategy for sustainable textile supply chains as Commission is set to new develop 'Textile Strategy'

In April 2020, a coalition of 65 civil society organisations put forward a joint shadow European Strategy for Sustainable Textile, Garments, Leather and Footwear, in which they propose a set of legislative and non-legislative actions for more sustainable supply chains post COVID-19, and urge the Commission, MEPs, governments and other stakeholders to work towards such a strategy. The release follows a commitment made by the Commission in its Circular Economy Action Plan (p. 13) to develop a comprehensive EU Strategy for Textiles.

Recommendations on what such a strategy should encompass include, among others:

- A legal obligation for companies to take responsibility for not only their own activities but their whole supply chain through an EU due diligence law

- Stricter environmental rules and

- Ensuring brands and retailers are legally obliged to honour contracts and end the culture of unfair purchasing practices.

The full shadow strategy is available below. MEPs Delara Burkhardt, Heidi Hautala, and Helmut Scholz in a joint letter addressed to all MEPs shared their support for the civil society strategy, and on 3 June, a group of 53 MEPs sent a letter to Commissioners Sinkevičius, Hogan, Reynders, and Urpilainen endorsing the civil society’s approach to rethinking the global textile value chains, also available below.

On 30 March 2022, the European Commission presented its strategy for sustainable and circular textiles to tackle the fashion industry's social and environmental impacts. More information is available here.

Timeline

Privacy information

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies. You can set your privacy choices below. Changes will take effect immediately.

For more information on our use of web storage, please refer to our Data Usage and Cookies Policy

Strictly necessary storage

ON
OFF

Necessary storage enables core site functionality. This site cannot function without it, so it can only be disabled by changing settings in your browser.

Analytics cookie

ON
OFF

When you access our website we use Google Analytics to collect information on your visit. Accepting this cookie will allow us to understand more details about your journey, and improve how we surface information. All analytics information is anonymous and we do not use it to identify you. Google provides a Google Analytics opt-out add on for all popular browsers.

Promotional cookies

ON
OFF

We share news and updates on business and human rights through third party platforms, including social media and search engines. These cookies help us to understand the performance of these promotions.

Your privacy choices for this site

This site uses cookies and other web storage technologies to enhance your experience beyond necessary core functionality.