The European Parliament's environment committee on 5 October 2026 backed eased rules on extended producer responsibility. The changes leave the main point on old clothes as it was: the firms that put clothes on the market will pay to collect, sort and recycle them.

The 2025 directive already says so. The full Parliament is expected to confirm the vote at its session on 19-22 October.

Extended producer responsibility means that whoever sells clothes also pays for what happens when they are thrown away, instead of the bill going to councils and taxpayers. A producer is anyone who offers textiles in the EU, including online sellers based outside the bloc. The rules cover clothing, shoes, hats, blankets, bed and kitchen linen and curtains.

Simpler rules: 72 votes in favour

The 5 October vote was on a package to simplify rules, which also covers batteries, packaging, electronics and single-use plastics. Textiles and shoes are in the same section as electronics and plastics. It passed with 72 votes for, none against and five abstentions.

The dispute is over the authorised representative. Producers that sell in a country where they have no base must appoint one in each country. The Commission wants to suspend this requirement until 2035. MEPs want the pause to apply only to small EU firms, and to end automatically once the general circular economy rules take effect. Firms outside the EU will still have to appoint a representative. The Commission is due to present the general circular economy law later in 2026.

The deadlines for the directive itself have not changed. EU states must write it into national law within 20 months of it taking effect, which means by June 2027. Textile schemes must be running within 30 months, or by April 2028. Micro-firms get another 12 months.

The directive allows lower fees for clothes that last longer and are easier to repair, but it does not set the amounts. Firms also expect suppliers to pass part of the costs on to retailers, so contracts will have to say who pays for what.

The French scheme from 2017

France has run a scheme since 2017. The organisation Refashion collects 4 cents on each item sold and pays sorting centres. Since 2025 it has paid €156 a tonne, and plans to raise that to €223. Sorters complain that the money is too little and comes too late.

The current funding covers sorting but not collection, which is a large part of the work of the organisation Le Relais, which also runs second-hand shops. A reform in 2026 could require Refashion to pay a minimum share directly to sorters and reuse firms. The sources give no data on any change in clothing prices in the EU.

Ultra-fast fashion charge from 1 September 2026

The French parliament passed a law against ultra-fast fashion in June 2026. It defines the term by two things: how many new styles reach the market, and how cheap repair is compared with the price of the garment. The per-item charge has applied since 1 September 2026 and hits Asian platforms such as Shein, Temu and AliExpress.

In 2026 the charge is 50 cents for underwear, €2 for a T-shirt, €9 for jeans and €12 for a jacket. By 2030 it rises to about €19.50 an item, but no more than half the price before VAT. Other reports give different figures, so the exact scale depends on decrees that have not yet been issued. From 1 January 2027 a ban on advertising, including by online influencers, also takes effect, with fines of up to €100,000.

The minister's office says H&M and Zara are not covered, while critics say the measure spares European brands. The European Commission has raised questions about whether the law complies with EU law, but the ministry says they have been "dispelled". China called the law discriminatory. Ecological transition minister Mathieu Lefèvre said the harm that ultra-fast fashion does to the environment and the economy is well known and documented.

In June 2026 the French watchdog DGCCRF fined Shein about €22m for missing details in order confirmations, for failing to explain the right of return, and for incomplete information on the origin of fabrics and the microplastics in them. Trade minister Serge Papin said the penalty targets "not mistakes, but a system". Shein calls the fines "clearly disproportionate and discriminatory" and will challenge them. Fines on Shein in France over the past year total more than €210m.

Once the vote is confirmed, Parliament will start talks with the Council on the simplification package.