Spain’s leading fashion retailers will begin collecting discarded clothing in April of next year as part of a voluntary pilot initiative aimed at managing textile waste in anticipation of EU regulations set to take effect in 2026. Companies such as Inditex (owner of Zara), H&M, Decathlon, Ikea, and Primark are among ten brands participating in this project, called “Re-viste”. Spain’s largest fashion companies set to launch the Textile Waste Collection initiative, which will focus on separating textiles and shoes from general waste to facilitate their reuse or recycling, according to project organizers.

New EU Regulations to Tackle Textile Waste

Spain is awaiting the final approval of new EU regulations that will mandate the separation of textiles from other waste. Once this approval is secured, the country will establish specific rules for fashion companies, which will be responsible for covering the costs of managing textile waste. Marta Gomez, director of quality and environmental evaluation at the Ministry of Energy Transition, shared this information with fashion industry leaders at an event in Madrid.

The new EU regulations are not expected to take effect until 2026, as companies will be given at least a year to adapt, according to government officials and fashion industry sources. However, Andres Fernandez, president of Re-viste and head of sustainability at Mango, emphasized that the initiative aims to take action ahead of the legal requirements. He stated, “The regulations guide us, but we’ve decided not to wait for the legal mandate.” Under the new rules, companies selling more clothes and shoes will likely face higher costs for managing textile waste.

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Pilot Program to Boost Textile Recycling

As Spain’s fashion companies are to launch textile waste collection, fashion companies will cover the costs of waste management, with expenses based on their sales volume. Currently, Spain only separates 12% of used clothing for recycling, while a staggering 88% is sent to landfills. The pilot program aims to change this by establishing collection points in various public spaces to increase textile recycling efforts.

During the year-long pilot program, Re-viste aims to place dozens of collection containers in various locations, including churches, stores, shopping centers, and streets, to gather discarded textiles in bags, which will then be transported to sorting facilities. Once the legislation is fully in place, fashion companies estimate that Spain will require one textile waste container for every 1,200 residents to meet the waste collection demands.

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