SUMMARY

• The European Parliament has published a new briefing on EU trade in textiles, covering import and export flows between 2014 and 2023. Members can find the document attached.

• The briefing examines EU imports of new textiles and clothing, exports of used textiles, and the interaction between textile trade, sustainability and circular economy objectives.

MORE INFORMATION

The briefing finds that the EU remains structurally dependent on imports in labour-intensive clothing segments, while performing more strongly in higher-value and technical textile products.

It also highlights the growing policy relevance of used textile exports, particularly regarding the need for credible quality thresholds, better transparency on downstream treatment, and clearer distinctions between reusable textiles, industrial rags and lower-grade material.

The briefing’s conclusions and recommendations include, in particular:

• The need to ensure greater coherence between EU sustainability requirements for imports of new textiles and the weaker transparency and oversight currently applied to used textile exports;

• The possible use of Digital Product Passports as a stronger customs and compliance tool, including to support checks on fibre composition, origin and compliance when goods enter the EU;

• The need to monitor the impact of customs reforms and direct-to-consumer low-value imports on EU clothing producers;

• The importance of carefully managing Bangladesh’s transition from least-developed-country preferences;

• The possible introduction of clearer customs categories for used textile exports, distinguishing genuinely reusable second-hand clothing from lower-grade materials intended for industrial processing or disposal;

• The possibility of exploring a voluntary trusted-operator scheme for responsible used textile exporters meeting higher sorting, documentation and transparency standards.

The briefing also notes that EU sustainability measures (including the ESPR, Digital Product Passports, due diligence rules and the Forced Labour Regulation) are reshaping textile trade conditions and increasing expectations on traceability, product information and compliance.

It should be noted that this paper was requested by the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA). The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author only (Dr. Toni Sharma, National Institute of Fashion Technology-Patna, India) and should not be considered as representative of the European Parliament's official position.