Controversy over apparel eco-levy proposal
France’s proposed eco-levy on new clothes and shoes provided the focus for a recent Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) Textiles Division meeting, which took place in Monte Carlo on June 2-4.
Guest speaker Bertrand Paillat, director general of the French Chamber of Commerce, explained that the aim of the initiative was to more than double 2005 sorting volumes to 130,000 tonnes by 2011 without creating ‘unfair’ competition. Levy money would also be used to support research.
However, there is still considerable concern among some textile recyclers that the new levy will disrupt the textiles recycling market to the disadvantage of established commercial enterprises.
In a review of market conditions, BIR Textiles Division president, Olaf Rintsch, of Textil Recycling K&A Wenkhaus GmbH in Germany, noted that 20% price increases for originals had been “wiped out” by higher fuel and buying-in costs. At the same time, sales of used clothing into Africa and Pakistan had been negatively affected by a reduction in customers’ purchasing power and by greater selectivity.
An emerging initiative in the Netherlands was outlined by Hans Brak of Vereniging Herwinning Textiel. The Jeans for Jeans - or J4J - project focuses on the ‘cradle-to-cradle’ concept of turning post-consumer clothing into new clothes. Members had discovered that the production of jeans and other clothing from 100% recycled textiles led to energy savings of 53%, as well as to a reduction in water and chemical consumption of, respectively, 99% and 88%, he said.
