Strategy and technical advice on the circular economy and fibres within the framework of the EU Textile Strategy

On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) is implementing the Sustainable Consumption sector project, under which the three instruments Partnership for Sustainable Textiles (BnT), Green Button (GK) and Seal Clarity (SK) pursue the goal of improving social and ecological production conditions along the textile supply chain, recognizing successes and presenting them in a transparent and comprehensible manner for consumers.

While clothing and textiles were previously a sector with a low level of regulation and were largely shaped by voluntary initiatives such as the BnT as a multi-stakeholder initiative for human rights and environmental protection in textile supply chains, the European Green Deal and the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles published in March 2022 are now unleashing a strong momentum for transformation. The EU textile strategy holds out the prospect of a series of measures that envisage fundamental revisions for the textile sector.

Against this background, the Oeko-Institut, together with the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences, is taking on the task of providing strategic and technical advice on the circular economy and fibers as part of the EU textile strategy. This includes the following points:

• strategic advice to the Partnership Secretariat on linking the EU Textile Strategy more closely to the work of the BnT, GK and SK on the circular economy and fibers,
• technical advice to the Partnership Secretariat in its advisory role on the further development of the Green Button and label clarity with regard to the topics of "circular economy and fibers", as well as the companies of the BnT and the federal ministries,
• providing technical advice to the Partnership Secretariat on optimizing the work of the BnT's Circular Economy Strategy Group, in particular on reducing sector risks,
• regular reporting on political developments in the EU textile strategy and
• responding to ad hoc inquiries from the BMZ, e.g. regarding the elaboration of current issues that could arise from the implementation of the textile strategy in Germany, Europe and in the production countries.