No destroying unsold goods: EU countries agree on green product rules

(EurActiv, 22 May 2023) The EU’s 27 countries have agreed a common position on the revamp of the bloc’s sustainable product rules, following tenuous negotiations about a sweeping ban on the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear.

Regular consumer products like clothing are broadly considered to be a burden on the climate, with some questionable estimates stating that up to 10% of global CO2 emissions are textile-related.

To reduce the waste associated with consumer products and boost their reuse in some shape or form, the EU’s executive launched a reform of the product rules framework in 2022 – best known as the Ecodesign rules.

On Monday (22 May), the EU27 agreed their joint position on the reform ahead of negotiations with the European Parliament.

“The Ecodesign regulation will make sure that products sold in the EU market are fit and ready for the green transition,” Ebba Busch, the Swedish minister in charge of the negotiations among the EU countries, said in Brussels on Monday.

The Swedes’ job, getting 27 capitals to agree to a common text, had been made much more challenging following a Franco-German push to outlaw the destruction of unsold textiles, footwear, and clothes.

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EurActiv, 22 May 2023: No destroying unsold goods: EU countries agree on green product rules