European and French civil society organisations have urged the European Commission to back a draft French law aimed at curbing the most harmful commercial practices in the fashion sector. In an open letter, 65 organisations warned that soaring clothing sales across Europe are accelerating disposal rates, leaving textile collectors and sorters overwhelmed by surplus garments with little or no resale value.

The groups pointed to the revised Waste Framework Directive (WFD), which requires Member States to establish Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes for textiles and allows fees to be modulated based on volume and eco-design, European Environmental Bureau (EEB) said in a press release.

The organisations said the French proposal would strengthen the WFD’s textile EPR provisions by penalising overproduction-driven practices, pushing back against the European Commission’s concerns over its consistency with European Union (EU) law.

“The Commission must walk the talk about curbing fashion’s detrimental impacts. EPR schemes must represent real incentives for brands to change how they operate. We must act now to tackle the never-ending stream of fashion items with no resale value flooding the global second-hand textile market,” said Emily Macintosh, senior policy officer for Textiles at the European Environmental Bureau.

“The French proposal is a unique opportunity to truly tackle the harmful model of overproduction in the clothing industry. France and the EU have to be role models by ensuring the swift adoption of the legislation in its most ambitious version,” said Pierre Condamine, overproduction campaigner, Friends of the Earth France.