Editorial: Foreign suppliers to the EU and US textile and clothing industries face uncertainties over sustainable product legislation

Editorial: Foreign suppliers to the EU and US textile and clothing industries face uncertainties over sustainable product legislation

The textile and clothing industries in the EU and the USA are the focus of increasing legislative efforts as lawmakers steer the industries towards sustainability and circularity. In the EU alone, 16 individual pieces of legislation are being developed as part of an ambitious vision for achieving circularity in the European textile and clothing industries by 2030. In European countries outside the EU and in the USA, it is estimated that there are more than 60 pieces of sustainable product legislation being drawn up which target the textile and clothing industries. The introduction of such legislation is expected to have major implications for textile and apparel brands which operate in the EU and the USA—and these implications are the subject of considerable debate. However, there are concerns that suppliers of textiles and clothing operating in regions outside the EU and the USA are being left in the dark about what the legislation means for them. More critically, it is feared that foreign suppliers will bear the greatest burdens as a result of the introduction of proposed legislation. In particular, it is predicted that they will face greater expectations with regard to their roles in pursuing greater sustainability in the textile and apparel supply chain and encounter increased pressures from brands to comply with legislation.