Eurofins Softlines & Leather Monthly Bulletin (March 2024)
Adopted proposal to reduce waste from textile
On 13 March 2024, the European Parliament (EP) adopted the proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2008/98/EC on waste to reduce waste from textile and food products. This means that Extend Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes will be applied to textile products such as clothing and accessories, blankets, bed linen, curtains, hats, footwear, mattresses and carpets, including products that contain textile-related materials such as leather, composition leather, rubber or plastic.
Producers of this type of product will cover costs for collecting, sorting and recycling waste textiles.
The file will be followed up by the new Parliament after the European elections from 6 June to 9 June.
For more information, visit the European Parliament news here.
The below table summarises the most recent standard updates and upcoming dates of withdrawal (non-exhaustive):
(*) Date of withdrawal: the latest date by which national standards conflicting with an EN (and HD for CENELEC) have to be withdrawn.
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CEN |
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Reference |
Title |
Date of withdrawal (*) |
Supersedes |
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Textiles - Tests for colour fastness - Part C12: Colour fastness to industrial laundering (ISO 105-C12:2024) |
31 August 2024 |
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French eco-modulation system for the textile sector
In 2024, the French companies affected by Extended Producer Responsibility (ERP) are working on supporting documentation on eco-modulation, which they shall deliver to their eco-organisations.
AGEC Law (in Article 62) establishes a system of bonuses and penalties (bonus-malus) which depends on environmental performance criteria. These can either reduce or increase the amount of eco-contribution paid by companies to their eco-organisations; this is called eco-modulation.
This information must be communicated or made available to consumers at the time of purchase, as indicated in Article 13 of the AGEC law.
Each eco-organisation establishes an eco-modulation scale for its product category. For the textile sector, the three criteria are as follows:
- Bonuses for product durability
- Bonuses related to certain environmental labels
- Bonuses linked to the incorporation of recycled material
For more information, consult your corresponding French eco-organisation for your product category. For the textile sector, visit the Re-Fashion website here.
Textile methodological work for environmental labelling
In March 2024, the French Ecological Transition Agency (ADEME) presented its methodological work on environmental labelling for textiles. ADEME’s and the public authorities’ priority is the finalisation and deployment of environmental labelling in the food and textile sectors in 2024. In 2024, a shortlist and final decision on the technical aspects, name and format is expected.
In short, consumer products must display an “environmental cost index” based on an environmental calculation over the entire life cycle of the product, following a validated benchmark.
It is important not to confuse this with the mandatory product information sheet regarding environmental qualities and characteristics, as required by Article 13 of the AGEC law and specified in Decree No. 2022-748 of April 29, 2022. This sheet presents certain qualitative characteristics of the product (e.g., country of manufacture, presence of hazardous substances), but not an environmental impact calculation.
The two main aims of this environmental cost index are to:
- Inform consumers of the environmental impact of consumer products
- Encourage manufacturers and distributors to initiate and promote eco-design approaches to their products
This requirement is stipulated by the Climate and Resilience Law (LAW no. 2021-1104 of 22 August 2021) in Article 2, which specifies that environmental labelling must provide information on the environmental impact of the goods and services over their entire life cycle. It must consider:
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Damage to biodiversity
- Consumption of water and other natural resources.
The implementation timeline communicated is:
- 2024: voluntary display of the eco-score on fashion items
- 2025: display is mandatory
However, the implementation decree has not yet been published, and the timeline is likely to be postponed.
The system will also expand in the coming years to cover other consumer products such as furniture and cosmetics.
For further information, visit the ADEME website here.
AGEC Law: Upcoming measures (by 2024-25)
The French anti-waste for a circular economy law (AGEC Law) has introduced several measures, such as the prohibition of certain single-use plastic products and the requirement to display information on the recycling, reuse and sustainability of products, etc. to put an end to all forms of waste. By 2025, more action is expected to be taken:
- A new sustainability index on electronics. From 2024, the repairability index is becoming a sustainability index taking into account three criteria: robustness, reliability, and scalability. The first products concerned will be smartphones, televisions and washing machines
- A new circular economy sector for professional packaging (pallets, films, boxes, etc.)
- Expand the collection of packaging, develop the deposit
- Expand the deployment of sorting bins in public spaces
- Implementation of a strategy to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic packaging (3R strategy).
- Implementation of a roadmap 2023-2028 specific to the textile sector: better collection, better recycling, better repair, developing the second life of textiles, supporting virtuous companies that respect environmental labels, etc
- Develop solutions for plastic microfibre filters on washing machines to prevent the release of microplastics that pollute the ocean
- To provide the French with a solution for collecting food waste to convert it into biogas or compost that is useful for the circular economy of the territories
- Deploy eco-design bonuses and rebates to incentivise manufacturers to make their products more sustainable and recyclable
Relevant publications related to ERP and AGEC Law
According to the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), waste management must be ensured by the producers of said products. To fulfil their obligations, they must join an approved eco-organisation or set up an approved individual system. The following texts indicate recent legislative publications and guides about requirements related to the circular economy.
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Entity |
Date |
Publication |
|
Re-Fashion |
In 2024 |
Guide des Éco-Modulations 2024 |
|
French Ministry of Ecological Transition |
21 February 2024 |
Decree No. 2024-123 of 20 February 2024 relates to funds dedicated to financing the repair of products falling under the principle of extended producer responsibility. The decree modifies the provisions for the environmental code for funds dedicated to financing repairs. The products affected are:
The decree also modifies provisions for contracts between the eco-organisations and the distributors concerned, so that these distributors promote the bonuses paid within the framework of this fund for the products the funds concern. |
|
French Ministry of Ecological Transition |
29 February 2024 |
Order of 29 February 2024 specifies the list of products falling under each product category that is subject to the obligation to acquire goods resulting from reuse or repurposing or which incorporate recycled materials under the application of article 58 of law no. 2020-105 of 10 February 2020, relating to the fight against waste and the circular economy, as provided for by article 2 of decree no. 2024-134 on the obligation to acquire goods through public procurement resulting from reuse or re-use or which incorporate recycled materials and the ban on acquisition by the State of single-use plastic products, taken in application of this article. |
Changes in textile and footwear labelling in Argentina
On 28 February 2024, Resolution 49/2024 was published in the Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic, which modifies Resolution 850 of 27 June 1996 of the former Ministry of Economy and Public Works and Services and its amendments (R. 26/1996 and R. 404/2016) and Resolution 622/1995, related to textile products, garments and footwear.
The main changes are as follows:
- The labels placed on garments, clothing and footwear must present the corresponding information in Spanish
- Identifying the exporter on the label is optional
- On the labels or legends corresponding to this regime placed on imported merchandise, replacing the name of the importer with the corresponding Unique Tax Identification Code (CUIT) will be permitted
For more information, visit the official publication in the Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic website here (only available in Spanish).
Regulatory proposals notified to WTO
The table below summarises the most recent notifications made to the World Trade Organization (WTO) (non-exhaustive):
|
Notification number |
Countries |
Title |
|
G/TBT/N/BOL/26 |
Plurinational States of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru |
Preliminary draft guidelines (test method) to determine the predominant materials in footwear. |
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G/TBT/N/BOL/12/Add.3 |
Plurinational States of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru |
Draft Andean Technical Regulation on the labelling of footwear, leather goods, travel goods and similar items. |
The below table summarises the most recent standard updates and upcoming dates of withdrawal (non-exhaustive):
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The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) |
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|
Reference |
Title |
Publication date |
Previously |
|
|
Textiles - Tests for colour fastness - Part C12: Colour fastness to industrial laundering |
February 2024 |
ISO 105-C12:2006/ AC:2007 |
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Below you will find a monthly summary of product recalls and alerts in Europe (Source “Safety Gate (RAPEX)”) and the U.S. (Source “CPSC”).
Safety Gate (RAPEX) (European Commission Rapid Alert System for dangerous non-food products – Alerts reported by EU national authorities)
The following 9 alerts regarding clothing, textile and fashion items were reported between week 8 and week 11 of 2024.
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Type of Risk |
Number of alerts |
Notes |
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Children's flip-flops |
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Children's puffer jacket |
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Children's shoes |
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Children's dress |
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Children's dress |
From 29 February 2024 to 21 March 2024, the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) published the following recalls: 5 recalls of textile & leather products
|
Hazard |
Number of alerts |
Notes |
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Children’s pajamas |
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Children’s pants |
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Mattresses |