Today, at a panel discussion “National implementation of the textile Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) at the Deutscher Bundestag, organized by MdB Julia Schneider (Green Party), Alexandra Caterbow represented HEJSupport in a timely debate on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles.
With textile waste rising and EU rules on textile EPR approaching, the discussion focused on a key question: 👉 Will EPR merely finance waste management – or finally drive safer, more environmentally friendly textile design, materials, and production?
Key HEJSupport messages from the panel:
🔹 EPR must go beyond waste financing
It has to change what is put on the market – not just pay for what becomes waste.
🔹 Eco-modulation needs to be meaningful
Producer fees must clearly reward materials free of substances of concern, reparability, reuse, and penalise fast fashion and unsustainable business models and design.
🔹 Chemicals matter for circularity
Hazardous substances in textiles harm the environment and health, undermining reuse, recycling, and safety. Products with substances of concern must face higher fees.
🔹 The Digital Product Passport is essential
Transparent, verifiable product and chemical data are the backbone of effective EPR and fair eco-modulation.
🔹 Strong enforcement is non-negotiable
Without compliance checks, audits, and sanctions, even the best EPR rules will fail and reward free-riders.
Textile EPR is an important opportunity to align waste policy, product policy, and chemicals policy – but only if it is designed with ambition, transparency, and enforcement at its core.
HEJSupport will continue to advocate for an EPR system that enables toxic-free circularity and protects health and the environment.
