EU Targets Textile Waste With Waste Framework Directive Amendments

Key Takeaways

• What Happened: A targeted revision of the EU's Waste Framework Directive (WFD) for textile waste took effect on October 16, 2025.
• Who Is Impacted: Producers of textiles, textile-related products, and footwear products who sell, offer to sell, or distribute such products in the EU.
• What Will Be Required: Regulated entities will be required to comply with mandatory extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes and rules for managing used textiles and textile waste, including sorting prior to export. EU Member States have until June 17, 2027, to incorporate the targeted revision into national laws and until April 17, 2028, to establish EPR schemes for textile and footwear products.
• Context: This is the EU's latest move to address concerns about waste textile management within the EU and globally.
• What Should You Do:
  • Monitor Member States' implementation of the revision into national waste laws to understand nuances at the national level;
  • Map expected compliance obligations and business impacts for producers and retailers, including the potential need to work with Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs); and
  • Consult with legal counsel to navigate the interplay between the WFD and the evolving Waste Shipment Regulation to ensure compliance and minimize business disruptions that could arise from new EPR mandates and requirements for transboundary movement of textiles in furtherance of circularity goals.

Background

The EU's Waste Framework Directive (WFD) creates a uniform waste management protocol for EU Member States. In 2018, the EU amended Article 11 of the WFD to require that Member States establish separate collection of used textiles and textile waste by January 1, 2025. On October 16, 2025, the latest targeted revision came into force, focusing on food and textile waste. The EU established this targeted revision in an effort to create a more streamlined approach for Member States and producers to address textile, textile-related, and footwear waste.

Who and What the Revision Regulates

Regulated Entities: The revision requires Member States to enact measures applicable to producers who sell, offer to sell, and/or distribute textile, textile-related, and footwear products that fall under Annex IVc of Directive 2008/98/EC. While the revision does not specifically exempt small businesses, it recommends that Member States tailor their rules to avoid disproportionately burdening smaller businesses. Furthermore, the revision advises Member States to consider factors such as sales volume when determining the financial contribution a business must make to producer responsibility organizations (PROs). This likely means that Member States will carve out their own exemptions and protections for small businesses when they implement these measures at the national level.

Regulated Items: Products that are regulated as textiles include:

• articles of apparel and clothing accessories (including leather),
• blankets and travelling rugs,
• household linens,
• curtains and interior blinds,
• worn clothing,
• headgear (including hairnets), and
• certain types of footwear composed of rubber, plastic, textile, or leather.

How The Revision Impacts Regulated Entities

The requirements under the revision that impact regulated entities fall into three main categories: (a) mandatory EPR schemes; (b) waste classification and management; and (c) used textile exports.

Mandatory EPR Schemes

The amended WFD requires Member States to ensure that producers comply with EPR schemes for textile, textile-related, or footwear products made available on the market for the first time. Producers must appoint, in writing, a legal or natural person as their authorized representative to fulfill EPR scheme obligations, who may be a qualified PRO. Consistent with the WFD's foundational principles, producers must cover the costs of collection and waste management.

The revision dictates the role of qualified and authorized PROs. The PRO must ensure that the producers' financial contributions account for the weight and/or quantity of products and the revenue made from reuse, reflect EU eco-design requirements, and apply equally to producers. PROs must also establish a separate collection system for used and waste textile, textile-related, and footwear products that producers make available on a Member State's market for the first time, subject to certain requirements.

Member States will establish a national register of producers to monitor compliance with the targeted revision. Producers should be prepared to register by providing specific information to every Member State in which they sell, offer to sell, or distribute products. The Commission will compile these registers on a public website.

Used Textiles and Textile Waste Management

The targeted revision also focuses on the EU's textile and waste textile management. The revision makes an important distinction between "used" textiles and "waste" textiles:

• "Waste" textiles are "any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard."
• "Used" textiles are products that "are directly handed over by end users and directly professionally assessed as fit for reuse at the collection point by the reuse operator or social economy entities."

Before export, used and waste textiles must now be separately collected and sorted in accordance with the waste hierarchy. For products that are suitable for reuse (using again for their original purpose) or which are prepared for reuse (checking, cleaning, or repairing products or components), sorting operations are directed to prioritize local sorting and local reuse before shipping abroad. If products are not suitable for reuse, operations are directed to sort these products for remanufacturing and recycling (including fiber-to-fiber recycling), prioritizing remanufacturing if possible. Authorities are expected to inspect shipments of textiles marked as "reusable" that they suspect to be waste to ensure compliance with the minimum requirements.

New Export Requirements for Used Textiles Destined for Reuse

Prior to export, textile shipments assessed as fit for reuse must include the following minimum information requirements:

• A copy of the invoice and contract relating to the sale or transfer, which states that the textiles are destined and fit for direct reuse;
• A copy of records containing evidence of prior sorting or direct professional assessment as fit for reuse on every bale;
• A protocol containing minimum recordkeeping requirements (listed below);
• A declaration by the natural or legal person in possession that the shipment is fit for reuse and that none of the material is waste.

Additionally, prior to export, producers must comply with minimum recordkeeping requirements for textiles that are assessed as fit for reuse. In these records, producers must document:

• Items in the bale and the most detailed sorting granularity they have undergone;
• Clothing type, size, color, gender, material composition, or other relevant characteristics that make the product fit for reuse;
• Name and address of the company responsible for final sorting or preparation for reuse.

Related Developments

The WFD revision may also inform the EU's approach to new work on waste textiles at the global level. Parties to the Basel Convention recently initiated work on transboundary movements of waste textiles and their management under the Convention. A number of countries and stakeholders have raised concerns about the mismanagement of textile waste, prompting renewed focus on this waste stream. For more information on the Basel Convention's recent textile discussions, see B&D's June 2025 alert here. As companies anticipate the implementation of new textile EPR schemes and related PRO development in the EU, regulators and stakeholders may also look for lessons learned from California's textile EPR scheme, now being implemented under SB707 (see B&D's October 2024 alert here).

Next Steps

Member States have until June 17, 2027, to apply the targeted revision into national laws and until April 17, 2028, to establish EPR schemes for textile and footwear products. By January 1, 2026, and every five years after, Member States will be required to survey collected mixed municipal waste to determine the share of waste textile products, send the data to PROs to inform the placement of collection points, and share the survey publicly.

As 2026 begins, it will also be important to take account of recent updates to the EU's Waste Shipment Regulation and the future Circular Economy Act, including further updates arising from the recent European Commission consultation.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.