The EU’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law that may force the fashion industry to become more sustainable

Image credit: Fernand De Canne

The European Union has struck textile companies with intensive laws dedicated to reducing the impact of fast fashion on the planet. The union has been at the forefront of rooting out the exploitative business practices of fast fashion giants such as Shein, H&M, and Inditex Group (which includes companies like Berksha, Zara, and Massimo Dutti). The EU is implementing laws that will reduce textile waste and promote recycling of fashion items. 

According to The Fashion Law, the EU has introduced an “Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)” mandate on 9 September 2025 for textile producers, which ensures that fast fashion companies shoulder the responsibility of “collecting, sorting, and recycling the clothing and household textiles” instead of individual consumers. The EPR is an addition to the existing Waste Framework Directive which calls for the development of sustainable waste management practices. Fortunately, these rules are also applicable to traditional European labels, promoting sustainability in the textile industry regardless of their business model. The EU is adamant about each member state adopting the necessary technology and infrastructure and setting protracted policy goals for the future. 

In the Waste Framework Directive, the EU highlights the complex composition of municipal waste which makes efficient sorting and recycling difficult for existing waste management infrastructures. The active participation of citizens is also a major factor in waste management to ensure each category of waste is discarded and recycled correctly. The Waste Framework Directive also stated that in order to combat the level of municipal waste in the world, a sophisticated system and public awareness is necessary. However, EPR rightfully places the responsibility of recycling on one of the world’s largest polluters themselves, forcing these companies to comply with sustainable business practices moving forward. 

If fast fashion companies continue to operate within the non-stop, trend-focused business model, the fashion industry is projected to generate 26% of the world’s carbon emissions by 2050. The only beneficiaries of this horrible statistic are the companies that earn billions of dollars from exploiting human labor and destroying the planet. This huge achievement toward legislative change in fashion serves as a framework for the rest of the world to reject unnecessary textile waste. However, the issue has not been abolished completely. Unless the rest of the world creates similar programs for its fashion markets, fast fashion giants will continue to switch their marketing practices and entice you to buy that new shirt for your “first” events forever. 

Australia is a leading consumer of fast fashion, ahead of many EU nations and the US. In a 2024 research paper by Nina Gbor and Olivia Chollet from the Australia Institute emphasized that the sheer quantity of Australian textile waste is 200,000 tonnes, equivalent to a weight of four Sydney Harbor Bridges. The Australian government needs to establish concrete laws similar to the EU to curb its textile waste crisis. Nina Gbor, founder of Eco Styles, has launched a petition to revive the Australian textile industry with a focus on circular economy practices. Here is a brief summary of some of the policies this petition is advocating for: 

•  Reviving the Australian textile industry, which can help create a $38 billion industry for onshore production jobs for women 

• Significant industry reform under the Labor Government’s Progressive productivity agenda and its commitment to the net-zero agenda by 2050 as well as strengthen the economic resilience of the country

• Taxing ultra fast-fashion brands and investing the returns into the Australian fashion industry 

• Phasing out virgin plastics and synthetic materials as well as banning toxic chemicals in line with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals foundation

• Public awareness about the health and environmental complications of buying fast fashion items

• Pushing for ethical business and fair trade practices under the Modern Slavery Act of 2018 to ensure there are no human rights violations within the industry. 

Sign the petition to create impactful change in legislation and consumer behavior in Australia. Self-expression through fashion should not have such a heavy cost. When you buy your next piece of clothing, think about the social and environmental impact of the item you are purchasing. Prioritize brands practice sustainability, quality, and fair trade. Opt for methods such as thrifting, mending, repairing, and swapping to elongate the lifecycle of clothing items and prevent their early demise into landfills already brimming to their maximum capacity. 

Article by Samya Dawadi for Eco Styles. Samya’s focus is on environmental and sustainability consulting in business and art. 

Italy fines Shein €1 million for greenwashing

Ultra-fast fashion conglomerate Shein, is being fined for the second time in two months. Italy’s antitrust agency, AGCM recently issued a €1M fine (approximately $1.7 million AUD / $1.15M USD) for greenwashing practices i.e. “misleading customers about the environmental impact of its products.”

Similarly, the first fine for Shein came from France in July this year through the country’s antitrust agency responsible for consumer protection and competition. They hit Shein with the first greenwashing fine to the tune of €40 million (approx. $72 million AUD) for fake discounts and misleading environmental claims.

The brand allegedly used “vague, generic, and/or overly emphatic,” claims that were considered “misleading or omissive” in connection to its “evoluSHEIN by design” collection. It promoted sustainable practices, with claims like using “fabrics left over by other fashion brands that were destined for landfill or incineration.”

The company’s touts of a circular system design and product recyclability "were found to be false or at the very least confusing", and the green credentials of its 'evoluSHEIN by design' collection were overstated, the regulator said.

Italy has fined the Chinese fast fashion online retailer Shien over $1.7 million for greenwashing. Nina Gbor from the Australia Institute says the e-commerce giant was giving “false and misleading” information to customers that they were doing something good for the environment.

The agency said the recyclability claims “were found to be either false or at least confusing,” warning consumers might think Shein products are fully recyclable and made only from sustainable materials which “does not reflect reality.” It’s also "a fact that, considering the fibres used and currently existing recycling systems, is untrue".

Italy’s AGCM also accused the brand of using a “misleading communication strategy” about its environmental impact, like Shein’s commitments to cut greenhouse emissions by 25% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050, noting that Shein's emissions increased in 2023 and 2024.

Shein responded by saying they have “strengthened internal review processes” and cleaned up its website to make sure all environmental claims are now “clear, verifiable, and compliant with regulations.”

Shein’s Impact

Shein made $32.5 billion sales in 2023. Their sales were forecasted to reach $50 billion in 2024. The average price of an item from Shein is between $10 - $20. It ships ultra-cheap clothing from thousands of suppliers to tens of millions of customer mailboxes in around 150 countries. 

These are factors that make Shein one of the biggest polluters of fast fashion. It has about 600,000 items for sale on average on its website and adds around 10,000 items each day. The company was shipping about one million products a day as of last year. In 2024, the company made over one billion dollars in revenue in Australia.  

There were concerns were from Shein’s third annual sustainability report published in 2023 which showed the company nearly doubled its carbon dioxide emissions between 2022 and 2023. Shein emitted 16.7 million total metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2023 which falls far below its Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) validated reduction targets to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 42% by 2030.

Can fining fast fashion companies be effective in Australia and other countries?

There’s nothing that corporations and most businesses hate more than losing profits in any way. So, the answer to whether fining greenwashing can work in my opinion is yes. Provided the fines are substantial amounts and not just a slap on the wrist. I think each time a company fails to comply with environmental regulations they should be fined. And the fines can potentially increase each time the offence is committed again. And if the fines are proving ineffective in general, it might be a sign that the amounts are too small to have an impact, therefore they should be increased.  

Isn’t it the consumers’ responsibility not to purchase fast fashion?

Every individual is responsible for their actions, including their own consumption and overconsumption habits. However, I believe the onus lies more on the brands/corporations to do the right thing by being honest and transparent with their claims. Clothing companies with access to multi-million- or billion-dollar funds have the resources and power to run operations and access materials that are genuinely better for the environment while still being profitable in many cases. Whereas, some consumers are experiencing cost-of-living crises, are time-poor because of life commitments and experience other issues that make it challenging for them to patronise non-fast fashion items.

 What can consumers people do instead of fast fashion?

Instead of buying fast fashion, consumers can:

• purchase secondhand items

• host or attend clothes swaps

• rent / hire and borrow clothing

• repair, mend or repurpose existing garments

• use free clothing services such as Thread Together who get left over clothes from retail brands and give to people who need them.

Moreover, some fast fashion items are have been found to have toxic chemicals from the materials used and dyes. Secondhand clothes might have less toxic chemicals than brand new ones. In addition to this, about 85% of clothes end up in landfill or incinerated each year. Reusing garments diverts clothes from landfill and it’s healthier for the environment in several ways.

*Article by Nina Gbor

How to reduce your fashion waste and environmental impact

Photo by Tamara Bellis

Over recent years the fashion industry has changed drastically; fast-fashion is now leading the growth in clothing consumption with clothing production doubling between 2000 and 2015 whilst the lifetime of the garments is decreasing. Mass produced clothing focusing on fast inventory turnarounds to capture everchanging trends. Let’s talk about figuring out the carbon footprint of your clothing consumption and a few tips for lowering it.  

The circular economy model stems from the idea of keeping resources in a loop to optimise their use and value. The clothing industry is globally one of the most dominant industries and highest value industries due to its product value, employment and market size, and it has doubled in production size in the last two decades. Each year, 150 billion fashion items are produced globally, making the textile sector a considerable polluter with a detrimentally significant carbon footprint that many consumers are unaware of. The carbon footprint of the clothing industry is something that must not be ignored and with the increase in fashion overproduction and overconsumption, it’s necessary to stay informed on ways to curate a sustainable wardrobe that can also be very stylish. Something as simple as "extending the life of clothes by an extra nine months of active use would reduce carbon, water, and waste footprints by around 20-30% each".

What makes up the clothing carbon footprint?

Photo by George Evans

Extraction and manufacturing 

The most significant contributor to the clothing carbon footprint is from the production of clothing fibres, their production requires a substantial amount of water, energy, fertilisers, and land use. As well as this, there is the manufacturing process; consisting of the weaving, dyeing, cutting, and sewing which all use large amounts of energy, chemicals, and also the disposal of the fabric offcuts. With many companies having a global presence and reach, another significant contributor is transportation - the raw materials and the final clothing products often travel extensive distances all around the world. Packaging of the products also contributes to the industry's carbon emissions. 

Consumption impacts

Once the consumer has received their items there is then the energy usage of washing, drying and ironing the clothes. Lastly, when people eventually dispose of the clothing that they no longer want, around 87% globally, goes into landfills despite the clothing still having 70% of its useful life left. Clothing made from synthetics such as Polyester “accumulate in landfills because conventional PET is non biodegradable” which can release harmful additives and microfibres which pollute the land, water and air.

Calculating your carbon footprint 

This might seem daunting but there are many ways you can mitigate your impact and reduce your clothing footprint. To make a start there are many online resources that you can use to calculate your clothing carbon footprint, I would recommend Thredup. It asks you various questions about your clothing consumption and habits and then provides you with tailored suggestions on ways you can reduce your fashion footprint. 

What else can you do?  

• Upcycle your clothes - this includes repurposing clothes such as transforming unwanted clothes into something else and clothes customisation. 

• Support circular fashion - utilise brands that offer schemes where they accept old clothes back and buy second hand items to keep existing clothes in circulation. Ensure that brands with take back schemes are reusing or recycling the clothing in the right ways and not burning them or sending the clothes to landfill. 

• Donate or sell your unwanted clothes - donating and selling your clothes gives them a second life and reduces the demand for brand new items.

• Buy less clothes - when you are wanting to buy a new item question how much you need this or how often you will wear it.

• Trade clothes - swap clothes with friends and family and host and attend clothes swaps. Clothes Swap & Style have free monthly clothes swap events in Sydney, Australia. You can get free tips from them on how to host your own clothes swap.

• Repair your clothes - rather than replacing damaged clothes with minor problems, you can repair them, this extends the life of your garments.

• Rent or borrow clothes - instead of buying new clothes for one off special events you can rent them, it is a fraction of the cost and helps optimise the usage of an item of clothing.

• Educate yourself and others - share your knowledge with friends and family and stay connected with developments in circular fashion. Support sustainable brands - when you need new clothing, support the companies that prioritise sustainability and are making clothes designed for long term wear. You can know if a brand is not greenwashing when they are not transparent about how many garments they manufacture each year and refuse to disclose their information about their supply chain. 

• Avoid fast fashion - Instead you could try shopping for preloved clothing. Fast fashion produces clothing at artificially low costs using unsustainable factors such as modern slavery, planned obsolescence and poor-quality materials. Their low quality encourages short-term wear. These clothing items have also been proven to have toxic chemicals such as pesticides and flame retardants in the manufacturing process which can seriously impact your health as prolonged contact with the skin can absorb the chemicals into your body.

• Restyle your clothes - this is using your creativity to wear one item of clothing in a variety of different ways through layering and accessorising, for different types of occasions which is demonstrated in this article.

Photo by Tamara Bellis

Article by Talisa Sharma. Talisa has a passion for business and enjoys educating and promoting sustainability and carbon friendly initiatives.

How to host different types of clothes swaps for friends and communities

In this very strange era where clothes are cheaper than chips and perceived as disposable, it’s a real shame that so many amazing, reusable items end up in landfill. Globally, a little under a hundred billion garments end up in landfill each year. In Australia alone, that figure is over 200,000,000 kg a year.

If you’re someone who loves good style but hates fashion waste, clothes swapping might be the answer to ending this conveyor belt of waste to landfill.

 At a clothes swap, attendees bring their quality unwanted garments and accessories to swap with other people’s valued, quality items.

Why swaps are so much fun? Whether you’re swapping with a few friends at home, or with a big group of strangers bonding over your mutual love for style and waste reduction, you’ll likely walk away with a big smile on your face. Here’s why:

• you meet lots of cool, like-minded people  

• swaps reduce clothing waste to landfill by keeping clothes in circularity for longer

• swaps reduce carbon emissions, energy and virgin resource use

• they’re a free (or low cost) way to give your wardrobe a refresh and new look

• an easy way for your community, organisation, friends or neighbourhood to fight waste.

 Need an additional reason? How about using the swap idea as an excuse for a party?!

 Here are ideas to help you get your swap game going:

Have a film screening

ABC TV’s environmental tv series War On Waste is an entertaining and informative docuseries that complements a swap perfectly. Have a few friends over at your place for a screening night with a clothes swap on the side. You can also screen other documentaries and films that fuel your passion for sustainable action. A clothes rack or table where people can hang or place their swap items is sufficient. Bonus points if there's drinks and food!  

Photo by Joseph Pearson on Unsplash

Neighbourhood & community swap party

Now this is a real party. Organise a clothes swap in your neighbourhood with neighbours or community with members. It can literally be on the street (with required permits), in front of several houses or even a community hall. At these community swaps, new friendships are formed, communities are built and grow stronger. It brings people together and inspires conversations on ways that people in the local community can collectively take action such as swapping other household items to reduce waste, community gardening and composting for instance.

Food always makes events more exciting so you can also make it a barbeque or food potluck clothes swap! Some music and entertainment are options that work beautifully in these scenarios. If you need guidance on hosting a swap, you can find resources here to support you through the process.

All-day drop in clothes swap

These swaps are so convenient for people to drop in when it suits them. The swap can run for several hours or all day. It’s necessary to have some swap clothes ready ahead of time so that the first groups of swappers to arrive have more options of clothing to swap. You can put a call out for clothing donations beforehand that you’ll use on the day to get your swap started.

Be a swap supplier (for councils, organisations, schools and businesses)

The idea here is to be an organisation that enables your community in the war on fashion waste and supports a circular economy. If you’re a council, organisation or even a business with a hall, room or space, perhaps you can let individuals and community groups use the space for free for swap events. You can also provide clothes racks, hangers and mirrors to encourage and make it easier for people to run swap events on a regular basis, all year round perhaps.

General clothes swap event

This is where you host a general clothes swap that’s not designed for a specific community, group or neighbourhood so that anyone, from anywhere can join in the fun. You might promote and advertise your swap online and through other channels so that people can find out about it. This is a great way to convene with sustainability-loving fashionistas. It’s the kind of swap that can attract a few more trendy fashion pieces than your average swap. Here’s a free ‘how to host a clothes swap’ resources toolkit to make it easier to host your swaps.  

Themed swaps

Holiday events and occasions are often celebrated with disposable material stuff, food waste or excessive plastic that quickly becomes waste. In some cases, all of the above. It's time we shifted this environmentally-damaging waste culture by celebrating our occasions in more sustainable ways like swapping.

You can theme your swaps as birthday swaps, picnic swaps, Mother’s Day swaps, Earth Day swaps, Valentine’s Day swaps, swaps for larger sizes only, International Women’s Day swaps, swaps for clothing designed for men, swaps for bridal hens’ nights, swaps for formal wear, etc. Theme ideas are endless!

* If you’re hosting a non-commercial swap in Australia in August or September 2023, register your swap here. It will be uploaded to the ABC War On Fashion Waste page for people to know your swap is happening. If your swap is small, you can still register it because it will inspire others to join the swap revolution!

Restyling for the war on fashion waste

You’ve probably heard by now that extending the life of a garment by nine extra months reduces its carbon, water and waste footprint by 20 – 30% each.

So many of us are used to buying new outfits when we have an event or whenever we’re bored with our wardrobes. Some of us just have a habit of retail therapy on autopilot. The result of this vast mindless overconsumption? A world where fashion & textiles is one of the most polluting industries in the world.

Around 100 – 150 billion garments are manufactured each year in a world of roughly 8 billion people. It’s not surprising that 87% of that ends up in landfill or incinerated each year.

The great Vivienne Westwood once said we need to buy less, choose well and make our stuff last longer. One of the easiest, simplest things anyone at any age or size can do to reduce waste in their wardrobe (and save some money in the process) is to reuse and restyle the pieces in your wardrobe, instead of buying brand new clothes.

Fluoro pink 1980s retro Japanese kimono I styled in in 6 ways.

Restyling means wearing 1 garment in multiple ways, for multiple types of occasions. It’s the antithesis to buying lots of brand new clothes or fast fashion on a regular basis. A little creativity, layering and accessorising in fun ways can be magical. New outfit combinations you never dreamed of are formed when you bring out the clothes and accessories in your wardrobe for a session of playing dress up. Mix and match different pieces that you’ve never worn together before to form new looks.

For inspiration, I’ve put 4 wardrobe restyles in this article: my pink Japanese kimono, a model I styled in a plain black dress, my white vintage 1970s taffeta dress and a bronze dress. The cool thing is that from one look to the next, you forget that it’s the same garment worn slightly differently. And each look works for a different type of occasion.

The colour, pattern and style combinations we can make in our wardrobes are endless. I hope you try it with your clothes. You can turn a dress into a top by wearing a skirt over the bottom half or even only use the bottom half as a skirt by wearing a top over the top half. This is what I did in some of these images. You can mix something that’s formal with a piece that’s more casual so that you get to wear the formal garment a little more often. The possibilities are limitless!

You can find restyle ideas and inspiration from:

1. Insta or Tiktok style challenges

2. by putting all your clothes and accessories on your bed, mix them up, then you’ll start to notice new pairs and combo possibilities emerge as you stare at the pile.

3. outside perspectives. Invite a few friends over for a style party and let them restyle the pieces in your wardrobe. Take photos of each look every time you restyle so that you remember the combinations. This can be done using accessories like bags, shoes, scarves, jewellery.

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The benefits of restyling? Restyling your wardrobe can make your wardrobe feel new to you because you’re wearing existing and old pieces in brand new ways. This eliminates the need to buy new clothes because you’re bored or have an event coming up. If everyone does this regularly, it’ll definitely reduce clothing waste significantly.

From a personal style perspective, it can take your wardrobe to new heights!

You can save lots of money while still looking very stylish, from NOT buying new things.

Per year, the industry contributes 1.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, if the fashion industry continues on its current trajectory, it could use more than 26% of the world’s carbon budget by 2050. We need to embrace simple actions like restyling. It can make a huge difference in the war on fashion waste.

♥ Nina Gbor

@eco.styles