Over half of the social and circular enterprises in RREUSE’s network are active in textile reuse and waste management, including collection, sorting, repair and reuse. As separate textile collection in the EU becomes mandatory, quantities of collected textiles are set to surge. This risks exacerbating challenges for social enterprises, pressured by overproduction and market saturation, rising operational costs, and a significant funding gap. RREUSE will strive to shape a Circular Economy Act that can address these challenges, e.g. by aligning Extended Producer Responsibility schemes with the waste hierarchy, and ensuring support to social and circular enterprises active in textile reuse and waste management.

Progress reported in June 2026: 
Since the submission of the pledge, the following progress has been achieved:

• RREUSE co-organised an event in the European Parliament with Zero Waste Europe and the European Environmental Bureau, to discuss the ongoing textile second-hand crisis together with Members of the European Parliament from the Greens/EFA and S&D groups (see here). The event focused on the implementation of EPR schemes for textiles in EU Member States, and how to ensure the second-hand and reuse sector can thrive as a key actor of EPR systems.
• RREUSE was actively engaged in shaping the upcoming Circular Economy Act and the planned provisions for EPR harmonisation and expansion, contributing to several consultations, publishing and co-signing numerous policy papers, and cooperating with relevant stakeholders and policymakers. In the future, RREUSE will contribute to the legislative process after the publication of the European Commission's proposal, by engaging with co-legislators in the European Parliament and Council.