Waste prevention is the best waste management policy option, according to the waste hierarchy - the EU's main rule for the environmental ranking of waste management policies. Its main objective is to reduce waste generation, the environmental impacts of waste management and the hazardousness of the waste generated.

To support this objective, the EU and all its Member States have put in place legislation that promotes activities in products' life cycles aimed at reducing the amount of waste generated.

This report aims to assess progress towards the main objective of waste prevention: decoupling (i. e. breaking the link between waste generation and economic growth).

This policy paper sheds light on the false claims and misleading communication campaigns advertised by the fashion industry. It discusses the environmental impacts associated with these Greenwashing claims in relation to three issues: materials, circularity and climate.

The paper further presents the most common statements and strategies used by fashion companies to convey their alleged engagement in environmentally sustainable practices.

Finally, recommendations are given on the policies needed on the EU-level to ensure that fashion brands are providing accurate and verifiable information to consumers, for them to make informed choices.

With this policy paper, Generation Climate Europe (GCE) calls on the EU to address the growing issue of Greenwashing in the fashion industry.

Circular Threads is a down-to-the-ground research aiming to offer a picture of the practices related to sustainability and circularity in the fashion and textile industry in Northern Italy.

This work represents a starting point to concretely foster the transition towards circular production models in the Italian textile industry. Researchers have developed a tripartite approach (desk research, questionnaire and circularity assessment) with different levels of granularity to measure the sustainability and circularity of the companies present in this area.

The report highlights how few companies in the fashion and textile industry are adopting CE practices and strategies, and a clear lack of knowledge-sharing about the opportunities the CE can bring them on a systemic level.

France’s Anti-waste and Circular Economy Law is a great example of cross-sectoral collaboration. Policymakers, municipalities, NGOs and businesses worked together with the public administration to identify a richer range of needs, solutions, and policy measures. As a result, the law is ambitious and contributes to a system-wide transition towards a circular economy.

This case study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is part of a series of case studies that exemplify elements of the Universal circular economy policy goals (2021) in practice.

This joint position paper from the Wardrobe Change coalition contains recommendations for the EU Strategy for Sustainable Textiles. It has been signed by 25 civil society organisations. The paper sets out recommendations structured around four overarching principles:

• Make sustainable textile products the norm
• Drive resource-sufficient textile consumption
• Leave the linear business model behind
• Hold the EU textile industry responsible for its role in the world.