End of Life

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Last updated: 10 Jun 2025

Managing End-of-Life for Garments

Introduction

In the cyclical narrative of sustainable fashion, the end of one garment's life marks the start of another, embodying the principles of the circular economy. This paradigm shift challenges the traditional, linear model of "take, make, dispose" by envisioning waste and resource use in a way that emphasises renewal and repurposing.

Each garment, when it reaches the perceived end of its usability, enters a process that either converts it into new forms or extracts its fundamental components for reuse. This approach not only extends the lifecycle of materials but also significantly reduces the environmental impact associated with the continuous extraction of virgin resources. Thus, in the sustainable fashion industry, the conclusion of a garment's use phase is not a termination, but rather a transition—a crucial pivot point that leads to innovative use and conservation of resources.

Closed Loop Systems

Implementing closed-loop systems is crucial for fostering sustainability within the fashion industry. These systems are designed so that garments are made with their eventual disposal and reuse in mind, ensuring they can seamlessly re-enter the production cycle once they're no longer needed by consumers. This approach typically involves using materials that are more amenable to recycling and adopting manufacturing processes that maintain the quality and integrity of fibres for their reuse.

Closed-loop systems significantly reduce waste by reprocessing old garments into new products. For instance, brands like Patagonia and H&M have developed take-back programs where customers can return worn-out clothes. These clothes are then recycled into new fabric, creating new garments without the need to extract raw resources. Such initiatives not only lessen the waste going to landfills but also curb the environmental impacts associated with raw material extraction and processing.

Moreover, these programs can extend beyond merely recycling old garments. By incorporating innovative techniques such as chemical recycling, where fibres are broken down chemically and reformed into new textiles, the potential for maintaining or even enhancing the quality of recycled fibres increases. This approach supports the industry’s shift towards complete sustainability, where the goal is not just to reduce waste but to create a regenerative cycle that supports continuous use of the same materials in a loop, minimising the need for new resources.

In addition to recycling, these closed-loop systems also encourage a redesign of garment production processes to decrease resource consumption and waste generation from the outset. Brands engaging in these practices are setting new industry standards and paving the way for a future where fashion is both eco-friendly and economically viable. This shift requires collaboration across the industry—from designers and manufacturers to retailers and consumers—to achieve a truly sustainable fashion ecosystem.

Material and/or Parts Recovery for Reuse and Recycling

The process of recovering materials or parts from used garments plays a vital role in reducing waste in the fashion industry. Reusing components such as buttons, zippers, and various types of fabrics not only diminishes the reliance on virgin materials but also cuts down the environmental toll of extracting and processing new resources. For instance, denim jeans can be repurposed into insulation for buildings, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional materials. Similarly, old t-shirts might find new life as cleaning rags or industrial wipes, proving the versatility and recyclability of cotton-based products.

Moreover, advancements in textile recycling technologies have opened up further possibilities for transforming old garments into new fibres. These regenerated fibres can then be woven into fresh textiles, effectively creating a closed-loop system in which material is perpetually recycled. This not only supports the sustainability goals of the fashion industry but also propels the entire sector towards a circular economy model. By continuously recycling fibres, the industry can significantly reduce its environmental footprint, moving away from a linear economic model (produce, use, dispose) to one that is regenerative by design.

End-of-Life Collection Points

Establishing end-of-life collection points is crucial for enhancing the recycling and reuse of garments. These points can be strategically placed in retail stores, community centres, or integrated into municipal waste management systems, providing accessible locations for consumers to deposit their worn-out or no longer wanted clothing. The presence of these collection points helps ensure that garments are diverted from landfills and instead are directed to facilities where they can be accurately sorted and either recycled or repurposed.

For these collection points to be effective, widespread consumer awareness and active participation are essential. This can be achieved through targeted public education campaigns that inform consumers about the environmental benefits of recycling garments and the specific locations of collection points. Additionally, incentives such as discounts, store credits, or loyalty points can be offered to encourage and reward consumers for their recycling efforts.

These strategies not only facilitate the logistical aspects of collecting used garments but also foster a culture of recycling and sustainability among consumers. By making garment recycling easy and beneficial, fashion retailers and community organizations can significantly increase the volume of textiles diverted from waste streams and repurposed in environmentally beneficial ways. This proactive approach not only aids in reducing the environmental footprint of the fashion industry but also promotes a circular economy where products are kept in use for as long as possible.

Conclusion

Addressing the end of life for garments through material recovery, closed-loop systems, and effective collection points is essential for advancing sustainability in the fashion industry. These strategies not only help in reducing waste and the demand for new resources but also support economic models that are both sustainable and circular.

Clothing, fashion and textiles: policies and standards

EU Circular Economy Action Plan 1 & 2: The EU Circular Economy Action Plan 1 (CEAP 1), launched in 2015, set the foundation for transforming the European economy from a linear to a circular model. The plan introduced 54 targeted actions, including legislative proposals to revise the Waste Framework Directive, Landfill Directive, and Packaging Waste Directive. It focused on improving product design to facilitate repair and recycling, enhancing waste management systems, and developing a functioning market for secondary raw materials. Sector-specific initiatives included the EU Strategy for Plastics in a Circular Economy, which aimed to make all plastic packaging recyclable or reusable by 2030; measures to reduce food waste by setting a common EU methodology to measure food waste levels; and efforts to ensure the secure supply of critical raw materials through improved recycling and reuse.

Building on the successes of the first, the EU Circular Economy Action Plan 2 (CEAP 2), introduced in 2020 as a core component of the European Green Deal presented a more comprehensive and ambitious strategy. The CEAP 2 identified critical shortcomings in current product design, which often fail to prioritise durability, reusability, repairability, and recyclability throughout the product lifecycle. It also highlighted the lack of accessible information and affordable sustainable choices for both consumers and businesses. To overcome these obstacles and foster a truly circular economy, the CEAP 2 emphasised the need for a well-functioning internal market for sustainable products. A central pillar is the proposed Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which will set requirements for products to be more durable, reusable, repairable, and easier to recycle. This includes measures like digital product passports, mandatory green public procurement criteria, and a ban on the destruction of unsold durable goods. It also targets resource-intensive sectors with high circularity potential textiles with the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles (published in 2022).

EU Waste Framework Directive: The Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC) is a cornerstone of the EU's waste management policy. It requires that waste be managed without endangering human health and harming the environment, without risk to water, air, soil, plants, or animals, without causing a nuisance through noise or odours and without adversely affecting the countryside or places of special interest. This directive sets the basic concepts and definitions related to waste management, including the "waste hierarchy" which prioritises waste prevention, followed by reuse, recycling, recovery, and disposal as the last resort. The directive also introduces the concept of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), holding producers accountable for the entire lifecycle of their products, including take-back, recycling, and final disposal. A 2023 Amendment to the Waste Framework Directive requires that by January 1, 2025, EU Member States must implement separate textile collection systems. To achieve this, significant investments are needed to enhance infrastructure and develop new technologies for collection, sorting, reuse, and recycling of textiles. As of June 2025, the revision of the Waste Framework Directive has now been postponed to October 2025.

Regulation on Waste Shipments: The EU Waste Shipment Regulation (EU) No. 2024/1157 aims to limit the export of textile waste, particularly to non-OECD countries. The new Regulation on waste shipments entered into force on 20th May 2024. However, most provisions will apply from 21 May 2026 and most export rules will apply from 21 May 2027. A central EU system is proposed for the disclosure of waste shipment-related data from May 2026. This includes any basic information on the waste that is shipped, like the quantity, treatment, origin, and destination. This proposal aims to prevent the EU from exporting its waste problems by ensuring environmentally sound management and strengthening enforcement against illegal shipments both within the EU and to third countries. It also seeks to improve the traceability of waste shipments inside the EU to better facilitate recycling and reuse.

Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD): This directive entered into force on 25 July 2024. It aims to promote responsible corporate conduct by requiring companies to identify and address human rights and environmental impacts across their operations and value chains, both within and outside the EU. Large companies must also adopt climate transition plans aligned with the Paris Agreement and EU climate targets. An Omnibus package adopted in February 2025 simplifies due diligence requirements. Member States must transpose the Directive by 26 July 2027, with phased application starting in 2028 and full implementation by 26 July 2029.

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD): Under CSRD, companies with over 1,000 employees are required to disclose risks, opportunities, and impacts related to social and environmental issues, including their effects on people and the planet. Textile companies especially large ones, listed SMEs, and non-EU businesses earning over €150 million in the EU must publish detailed sustainability reports, even if textiles are not their core business. By requiring regular disclosures on environmental and social matters, the CSRD aims to help investors, consumers, and other stakeholders understand and compare textile companies' sustainability performance.

The Green Claims Directive 2024: The Green Claims Directive is an EU initiative aimed at ensuring that environmental claims made by companies about their products and services are clear, accurate, and substantiated. This directive addresses the growing issue of greenwashing, where misleading claims about environmental benefits are made. To combat greenwashing, the directive sets strict guidelines requiring businesses to provide verifiable evidence for their environmental claims. Companies must substantiate claims using recognised scientific methods and have them verified by independent accredited bodies before making them public. They must specify the scope of claims whether they apply to the entire product, a part of it, or a specific aspect of its lifecycle. They also must undergo ex-ante verification, meaning all voluntary environmental claims must be assessed before being presented to consumers. This verification process must be completed within 30 days to ensure timely compliance. The directive covers various aspects such as carbon footprint, resource efficiency, and recyclability. Furthermore, vague or generic environmental claims such as "eco-friendly," "green," "ecological," or "environmentally friendly" without clear and prominent substantiation will be effectively banned if they cannot meet strict criteria. This directive entered into force on the 26 March 2024 and member states must now incorporate its requirements into national law by 26 September 2026. It complements the Directive to Empower Consumers for the Green Transition, which entered into force on the 27 March 2024, further strengthening consumer rights against misleading sustainability claims.

Textile Labelling Regulation: The regulation, which is currently under revision, aims to improve the functioning of the internal market and provide accurate information to consumers. It sets out a framework on how the textile composition is to be declared and how fibre composition should be. The introduction of rules on labelling domains such as sustainability and circularity, care, origin, size and presence of allergenic substances is currently under consideration, with a view to proposing a fundamental revision of the Regulation soon. The planned proposed revision of this regulation aims to be published by the fourth quarter of 2025.

Relevant standards

This section highlights various international, European, and industry-specific standards that provide guidance on resource efficiency, waste management, responsible sourcing, and transparency. This overview covers key standards shaping sustainable practices in the fashion and textile sector, including ISO environmental management systems, circular economy frameworks and textile-specific sustainability certifications. This section is divided into horizontal standards, which apply broadly across industries, and sector-specific standards, tailored to the unique sustainability challenges of the textile and fashion sector.

Horizontal Standards:

ISO 14001 Environmental Management System: ISO 14001 is an international standard for environmental management systems, providing a framework for organisations to minimise their environmental impact, comply with regulations, and continuously improve their environmental performance.

ISO 26000 Social Responsibility: ISO 26000 provides guidance on social responsibility, including labour practices, human rights, and community engagement. While not specific to the textile industry, it is relevant for fashion brands seeking to address social issues in their supply chains.

ISO 59000 Family of Standards: The ISO 59000 family of standards focuses on establishing a comprehensive framework for implementing and managing circular economy practices and are located within ISO/TC323. These standards provide guidelines on key areas such as terminology, principles, action planning, performance evaluation, and continuous improvement. The primary aim is to harmonise the understanding and application of circular economy concepts, supporting organisations in achieving sustainable development goals. The first three standards were published in 2024 and are ISO 59004 (key terminology, framework and principles), ISO 59010 (guidance on business models and value networks related to circularity), and ISO 59020 (measurement and assessment of circularity). Recently a new standard was published in 2025, ISO 59040:2025 (product circularity data sheet).

CEN/CLC/JTC 10/WG 8 Method to Achieve Circular Designs of Products: CEN/CLC/JTC 10/WG 8 is a working group focused on developing methods to achieve circular designs of products. The methods developed by CEN/CLC/JTC 10/WG 8 address various aspects of product design, including material selection, manufacturing processes, and end-of-life management. Published in November 2024, EN 45560 provides a standardized method for integrating circularity into product design. Key aspects of the standards include life cycle thinking, material efficiency and design guidance. EN 45560 serves as a horizontal standard, applicable across various product categories, especially where specific product standards are absent. It supports alignment with EU initiatives like the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and the Circular Economy Action Plan. In addition, CEN/CLC/JTC 10 launched a series of standards related to reuse, repair, and recycling (EN 4555X Series). These include EN 45554:2020 (methods to assess the ability to repair, reuse, and upgrade energy-related products), EN 45555:2019 (methods for assessing the recyclability and recoverability of energy-related products), EN 45556:2019 (methods for assessing the proportion of reused components in energy-related products) and EN 45557:2020 (methods for assessing the proportion of recycled material content in energy-related products). Initially the standards were focused on energy-related products sector related to the Ecodesign directive. Under ESPR, the JTC 10 is required to broaden out its standards development to cover and be relevant to all products.

CEN/TC473-Circular Economy: CEN/TC 473 is the European standardisation committee focused on developing standards for the circular economy (CE). This committee aims to create a coherent framework that supports the transition to a circular economy by setting clear and practical guidelines for industries. The standards developed by CEN/TC 473 address various aspects of circularity, including product design, resource efficiency, waste management, and the use of secondary raw materials. CEN/TC 473 has initiated work through four dedicated Working Groups (WGs), each concentrating on a specific area: WG 1 focuses on circular economy terminology, framework and principles, WG 2 focuses on establishing standards for sharing information related to circular economy practices, WG 3 focuses on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and WG 4 focuses on circular business models.

Regarding the development of the ESPR, there are potential standards under development on DPP including CEN/CLC/JTC 24 (Digital Product Passport: Framework and System), ISO/PWI 25534-1 (Global DPP Standard System).

Sector Specific Standards:

ISO 5157 Textiles — Environmental aspects — Vocabulary: ISO 5157:2023 is a comprehensive standard established to ensure the quality, safety, and sustainability of products across various industries. This standard outlines the requirements for environmental management systems, focusing on reducing environmental impacts, enhancing resource efficiency, and promoting sustainable practices. By adhering to EN ISO 5157:2023, organisations can demonstrate their commitment to environmental responsibility and improve their operational performance. The standard provides a framework for identifying and controlling environmental aspects, setting objectives, and implementing policies that align with global sustainability goals. It also includes guidelines for continuous improvement and compliance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements. EN ISO 5157:2023 helps businesses minimise their environmental footprint and contribute to a greener economy.

ISO standards for the fashion and clothing sector: ISO 22120:2021 (Recycled Textile Materials) for criteria for defining and certifying recycled content in textiles. ISO 105-C06:2010 (Colour Fastness Tests) to ensure durability and longevity of textiles to minimize waste. ISO 18383:2016 (Quantification of Fibre Content) to support recycling and material reuse through accurate identification. ISO 15797:2017 (Industrial Washing and Finishing) to address durability and quality retention in professional applications.

Some CEN standards are more specific for the fashion and textile sector such as CEN/TR 16985:2016 (Textile Recycling Symbols), CEN/TC 248 (Sustainability and Circularity in Textiles), Draft CEN/TC 248 Textiles & Textile Products (Circular economy for textile products), EN 16848:2016 (Bio-based Products Communication and EN 16732:2014 (Dimensional Change in Washing).

Other Industry Standards:

WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme): WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) offers a variety of standards and guides across different sectors including textiles to support sustainable practices in waste management and recycling. Key resources provided by WRAP include the Sustainable Clothing Guide. This guide helps manufacturers and retailers increase the durability and quality of clothing through best practices in design, production, and selling, aiming to extend the lifecycle of garments and reduce waste.

GRS and RCS - Textile Exchange: The Global Recycle Standard (GRS) and The Recycled Claim Standard (RCS) are international, voluntary standards that sets requirements for third-party certification of recycled content, chain of custody, social and environmental practices, and chemical restrictions. The GRS and RCS are intended to meet the needs of companies looking to verify the recycled content of their products (both finished and intermediate) and to verify responsible social, environmental, and chemical practices in their production.

For those involved in manufacturing or branding materials and products, understanding and potentially obtaining GRS and RCS certification can significantly enhance the sustainability credentials of their offerings. For more detailed information visit the website of Textile Exchange.