New ESG Rules For Textiles in Europe and France

On September 9, 2025, the European Parliament adopted a new directive amending the Waste Framework Directive with respect to textiles and food waste. In particular, textiles will be subject to extended producer responsibility ("EPR"). Textile waste targeted by the directive includes used clothes as well as accessories, hats, footwear, blankets, bed and kitchen linen, and curtains. 

The EPR requires “producers” (defined below) to pay for, and organize, a separate collection system for used and waste textiles, as well as subsequent sorting and treatment processes in line with the waste hierarchy. This hierarchy gives preference to reusing (second-hand textiles) and recycling above valorization, with landfills as a last resort option.

The new rules will apply to all manufacturers, importers or distributors making such products available on the EU market, all producers, including e-commerce, and irrespective of whether they are established in an EU country or outside the Union. 

In parallel, in France, where EPR has been applicable to textiles since 2017, on September 6, 2025, the government adopted a decree and an order providing for a voluntary environmental footprint label for textile products to steer consumers towards products considered greener. The scheme is supposed to be based on a complex and detailed calculation of points of impact on the planet.