Fast fashion, slow transition

In the new ultra-fast fashion era, clothing quality will deteriorate, while the garment production cycle will be accelerated to new heights. The main features of the industry are its reliance on cheap manufacturing, overconsumption and the use of short-lived clothing. The textile industry accounts for 10% of the world’s carbon emissions and 20% of the world’s wastewater, making it one of the world’s most polluting industries. At the same time, climate change-related phenomena such as flooding and extreme heat are threatening workers at apparel production centres in some of the most climate-hit countries. The shift to the sustainable textile industry has been long postponed to end these high environmental and social costs.

In 2009, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recognized that the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights was threatened by climate change. Fast forward to 2025, the effects of climate change are widely seen in the textile industry as heat stress and increased flooding impact workers’ health, pace of production and infrastructure. These events demonstrate the strong interrelatedness of human rights, the environment and climate change, which explicitly touch on human rights and a clean, healthy and sustainable environment (HR2HE). This right constitutes a prerequisite for the enjoyment of human rights. These are things that you can’t enjoy without a healthy, healthy climate. Gradually, HR2HE has emerged under international law, adopting UN resolution 48/73 as an important recognition (see here an earlier post by Otto Spijkers on the status of this human rights under customary international law). The importance of HR2HE has been confirmed in the European Court of Human Rights case law (see Klimaseniorinnen; see Natalia Kobiraz’s post for further discussion of the environmental human rights framework of the European Convention on Human Rights).

The transition to a sustainable textile industry requires fundamental changes that can be initiated by a strong legal framework. Examples of catalysts for such changes can be found at the European Union level. The European Union envisions that the EU strategy for sustainable, circular textiles (EU strategy) will “abolize fast fashion.” One of the essential equipment for this transition is the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).

This blog post will set out who are responsible for protecting human rights from climate change within the textile industry. In the second step, this blog post aims to analyze EU strategies and focuses on the intersection of environmental and social rights in the textile industry. Finally, this post sets out how the EU envisions climate change obligations in relation to both mitigation and adaptation in the textile industry. The focus of analysis is on the concept of circular economy. Ultimately, the goal is to demonstrate the importance of centralizing the intersection of social and environmental rights within a legal framework so that both society and the environment can benefit from green transitions.

This discussion is particularly important in relation to the current blog post symposium and the investigation into the intersection of HR2HE and intellectual property (IP) protection. IP protection in the textile industry plays a key role in shaping the sustainability transition. For example, trademarks and copyright protections on clothing and other products can hinder sustainable upcycling and raise concerns about the balance of IP rights and the balance between the principles of circular economy and the HR2HE. This issue will be further explored along with potential legal solutions, among other things, in future posts by Martin Senftleben, Irene Calboli, Péter Mezei and Heidi Härkönen.

Protecting human rights within the textile industry

As recognized by the preamble to the 2015 Paris Agreement, states must respect, promote and consider their respective human rights obligations when taking action to address climate change. The link between human rights and climate change is widely recognized at the national and international level. Within the textile industry, states involved in production and consumption must be responsible for protecting communities from climate change. At the same time, private stakeholders, including brands, retailers and suppliers, must also be responsible for protecting workers and the environment, as recognized by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Through voluntary policy of corporate social responsibility, businesses aim to develop sustainable policies and make decisions that take environmental and social considerations into consideration. These policies are well proven ineffective in improving labor standards and providing living wages within the textile industry’s global supply chain. Recognizing the inefficiency of voluntary actions, private enterprise actions are increasingly governed at the international and national level by domestic environmental laws and policies aimed at protecting environmental rights. A more systematic approach is found in the development of a circular economy that aims to transform linear business models by circulating products and materials at the highest value. This concept is intended to tackle climate change and other environmental global challenges such as pollution through processes such as maintenance, reuse, renovation, recycling and upcycle.

EU Strategy for Sustainable Round Textiles

The EU strategy introduced in 2022 recognizes that linear business models lie at many roots of negative social and environmental impacts in the textile industry. Built on the objectives set out by the EU Green Trade, the Circulation Economic Action Plan and the EU Industrial Strategy, the EU envisions a transition to a sustainable, circular production, consumption and business model. This strategy advances the committee’s vision for the future of the textile industry. This includes “all textile products placed in the EU market are durable, repairable and recyclable, largely made from recycled fibers without hazardous substances produced in terms of social rights and the environment.” To achieve this goal, the EU strategy will build a framework based on revisions to existing laws and new laws that touch on the textile industry. The EU Strategy aims to change the entire life cycle of textile products and the way they are produced and consumed through 16 laws. The central part of the law is the eco-design of CSDDD, Green Claims Directive, Waste Framework Directive, and Sustainable Product Regulations.

The circular economy and social rights of the textile industry

Some of the law touches on the environmental aspects of sustainability by focusing on the transition to a circular economy. The idea is that the circular economy reduces clothing producers’ dependence on fossil fuels, while at the same time reducing the impact on climate change and microplastic pollution. An important legislative measure is to introduce ecode designs of sustainable product regulations that introduce passports for digital products and the prohibition of destruction of unsold textile products.

The circular economy could put an end to pressing environmental issues, such as overuse of national resources and waste-related issues. So far, the biggest action among brands, manufacturers and producers can be located in reducing the industry’s environmental footprint by adopting new technologies. However, as resource consumption continues to increase over the next few years, the industry’s environmental footprint is expected to continue to grow. When considering legislative measures essential to green transitions envisaged by the EU strategy, it becomes clear that the focus of EU lawmakers will primarily focus on environmental protection and have a low impact on social rights. The most promising measures to take into account the intersection of environmental and social rights are the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and CSDDD. CSDDD aims to promote sustainable and responsible actions for a fair transition to a sustainable economy. The impact of EU corporate accountability laws remains unknown as the omnibus simplification package significantly weakens sustainability obligations.

Therefore, the concept of circular economy does not necessarily imply sustainability, so social and human rights impacts are not automatically addressed in circular solutions. Even within recycling facilities, reports already exist regarding children and forced labor. The impact of circular business models on value chain labor is not adequately addressed by legal frameworks. The movement towards a circular business model will significantly disrupt employment growth. At the same time, there remains a strong risk of perpetuating concerns about existing working conditions, such as low wages, excessive overtime and harassment. Informal workers are particularly vulnerable to negative social impacts, although they are extremely important in areas such as waste picking, as they are likely to be excluded from legal protection.

Finally, the EU strategy acknowledges that exploitative business models based on overdose and overproduction are at the root of the socioecological impacts in strategy. However, unsustainable business models and purchasing practices are not addressed by the laws envisaged by EU strategies. A true change to the sustainable value chain is only possible if textile overconsumption and overproduction are addressed by a legal framework.

Conclusion

The EU strategy sets an important route to transitioning the textile industry. However, it does not properly address the intersection of environmental and social rights. Instead of reducing its sustainability obligations, the EU should assume the role of leadership and protect human rights, the environment and climate. More action is needed in the form of new policies or laws to mitigate the negative social and environmental impacts of the textile industry. The heart of a sustainable transition should be the goal of maintaining consumption and production within the boundaries of the planet.