As a long-standing advisor to governments on environmental policy, WRAP supported the Government of Ireland in taking its first steps towards designing a national Textiles Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme. This work positions Ireland as one of the latest European Union (EU) member states to proactively act on proposed EU legislation under the revised Waste Framework Directive.
Problem
Solution
Impact
Problem
To address the significant environmental and social impacts of fashion and textiles, the European Union is introducing a package of policy measures targeting the sector. Among them is a requirement under the revised Waste Framework Directive for all member states to implement national Textiles Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes.
These schemes will require producers – brands and manufacturers placing clothing and textiles on the market – to take financial responsibility for their products at the end of their first life. This includes paying fees to fund collection, sorting, reuse, and recycling infrastructure, as well as consumer behaviour change campaigns.
For Ireland, the need for an EPR scheme is particularly pressing. An estimated 39% of Irish shoppers report buying clothing weekly or monthly, meanwhile approximately 35kg of used textiles is disposed of per person each year – exceeding the EU average.
Without intervention, this cycle of high consumption and high disposal risks further exacerbating the global textile waste crisis and undermining the Government of Ireland’s efforts to transition towards a circular economy.
Solution
With over 20 years of experience advising governments globally on environmental policy, WRAP was well-positioned to support the Government of Ireland’s Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment in taking its first steps towards designing a national Textiles EPR scheme.
This work included:
- A comprehensive report outlining recommendations for a proposed EPR scheme
- A governance model and operational framework for a Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO)
- A proposed implementation Roadmap, highlighting key milestones and required actions.
To ensure the scheme delivered against the needs of Ireland’s textiles industry and infrastructure requirements, WRAP led extensive stakeholder engagement – including in-person workshops and online discussions, gathering input from across the value chain.
Three key principles emerged from stakeholder feedback and were embedded in the scheme design:
- Policy alignment: The scheme should complement, and where practical, leverage the operations of Ireland’s preexisting EPR systems (e.g. for product packaging, waste electricals/electronics, batteries and tyres), to reduce administrative burden and implementation costs. It should also align with the ambitions of national policies such as the forthcoming National Policy Statement and Roadmap for Circular Textiles.
- Waste hierarchy focus: The scheme should prioritise prevention and reuse over recycling, reflecting both stakeholder and EU expectations.
- Recognise existing infrastructure: The scheme should support and avoid disrupting Ireland’s established used textiles sector, which includes collectors, sorters and recyclers. In 2023 alone, its 432 charity shops diverted 11,300 tonnes of textiles from landfill and incineration. Stakeholders emphasised the importance of protecting existing organisations from any unintended negative impacts.
Supplementing this in-field research, WRAP also drew on global best practice from projects, including the Accelerating EPR Knowledge Project (spanning four continents) and the Plastics Reboot Project (a seven-year initiative across 16 countries), alongside learnings from other successful international textiles and non-textiles EPR schemes.
All of this groundwork will inform the future design of a flexible, future-proofed national Textiles EPR scheme for Ireland – one that works for key stakeholders in the country, leverages existing infrastructure and has policy resilience, with flexibility to adapt to forthcoming EU “delegated/ implementing Acts” and harmonisation rules.
Impact
This collaboration has provided the Government of Ireland with recommendations and a proposed pathway for incorporating a Textiles EPR scheme into its broader circular policy frameworks, including its forthcoming National Policy Statement and Roadmap on Circular Textiles.
It positions Ireland among the latest European Union (EU) member states to begin preparations to put the EU’s proposed Directive on EPR in place.
By securing early buy-in from key stakeholders, WRAP has developed a proposal that is contextually relevant and operationally viable. A scheme co-designed with Irish stakeholders – for Ireland.
It combines local insights with WRAP’s global experience and deep technical expertise, developed through relevant projects around the world.
Once designed and enacted, the scheme will become a key mechanism for delivering Ireland’s circular economy ambitions and tackling fashion and textile waste more effectively.
We would like to thank WRAP for their expert facilitation of a stakeholder workshop on what an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme for textiles would look like in an Irish context and for producing a comprehensive report and roadmap on their recommendations for the development of an EPR scheme based on facilitated discussions. Their expertise, professionalism, and collaborative approach was invaluable in helping us deepen our understanding of the challenges and opportunities.
Jacqueline Healy, Assistant Principal Officer, Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment