Page 8 - Daily News_20210924

How Euratex Aims to Make Europe a Global Leader in Sustainable

Textiles

The European Apparel and Textile Confederation (Euratex) recently
announced a plan to create a more competitive and sustainable
European textiles industry, which it will formally make available by the

end of the year. According to the organization, the new framework will
align with other relevant EU policies—such as the EU Industrial strategy,
the new EU Trade strategy, the EU Pact for Skills, the Sustainable
Chemicals strategy, the Sustainable Product Initiative and more—to

ensure it’s free of contradictions and set up for successful
implementation.
The framework arrives at a time when the sector is in need of global
alignment in order to slow the effects of the climate crisis. In January, the

European Commission identified textiles as a “priority sector” for
accelerating a carbon-neutral, circular economy.
It aimed to tackle the issue of textile waste, but noted that the industry
is highly globalized, and includes piecemeal action at national and local

levels that are “insufficient to drive change.” With the new framework,
Euratex aims to unite the European textile industry—which it says
currently includes 160,000 companies (99 percent of which are small- or
medium-sized businesses) and employees 1.5 million people—and

encourage more sustainable action at scale.

7