France would like the EU to ban exports of used clothes, the country’s Ministry for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion has told Reuters. Of particular concern for France is Africa, which, the ministry said, “must no longer be the dustbin of fast-fashion.”
France enjoys the support of Sweden and Denmark for the proposal and is hoping to get it on the agenda for the forthcoming meeting of the EU’s Environment Council, on March 25.
On the meeting’s agenda so far are the waste framework directive, the reduction of microplastic pollution, the 2040 climate target, a monitoring framework for “resilient European forests” and a mid-term evaluation of the eighth environment action program (EAP).
The waste framework directive, under which the French proposal would presumably fall, involves “extended producer responsibility” (EPR) schemes, to get producers to cover the costs of waste treatment; the EU’s “waste hierarchy,” with its sorting for reuse and recycling of what cannot be reused), and “binding food waste reduction targets for member states, to be achieved by 2030 to contribute to the EU’s commitments under the sustainable development goals (SDGs).”
