With the cooperation project "Ghana x Germany: Paving the way for a fair EPR", BKHS, together with its partner Circular City Berlin and other partners, is advocating the introduction of a fair Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the textile industry. Huge amounts of textile waste are generated in the EU every year. However, only around a fifth of this is currently reused or recycled. The rest is incinerated or disposed of in landfill sites. With extended producer responsibility, companies are now to be obliged to take responsibility for a product throughout its entire life cycle. Such EPRs already exist in France and the Netherlands and are now to be introduced at EU level.
It goes without saying that these endeavours are an important step towards a more sustainable textile industry. However, the impact of new EPRs on the Global South is often not sufficiently taken into account. The cooperation partners have therefore set themselves the goal of raising awareness of the challenges and effects of the trade in and disposal of used clothing in countries of the Global South.
Specifically, contacts between Ghana and Germany are to be strengthened in order to jointly discuss a globally equitable textile EPR programme that addresses global justice from both an environmental and social perspective. Through international dialogue, political decision-makers from Germany and the EU should gain a better understanding of the complexity and different realities of dealing with textile waste. The aim is to promote the development of new solutions for an EPR textile policy in Germany and the EU.
The implementation of a globally equitable EPR in the textile sector at EU level would be an important contribution to the redesign of a resilient, sustainable and equitable globalisation - a topic that Dr Elisabeth Winter, Head of our Global Markets and Social Justice programme line, is working on. Her research and work focus on the social consequences of economic policy decisions at national and international level. The cooperation project with Circular Ciuty Berlin uses a concrete recommendation for action to show how globalisation can be reshaped.
As a non-profit association, Circular City has set itself the task of helping to shape the local circular economy agenda by participating in research, building networks and realising implementation-oriented projects.
The BKHS supports Circular Berlin in networking with decision-makers at national and European policy level and accompanies the content-related activities from a scientific and trade policy perspective. Further cooperation partners are the development initiative Engagement Global gGmbH and the non-governmental organisation OR Stiftung.
The collaboration between Circular City Berlin and the BKHS began last year with an article by Circular Berlin for our BKHS Magazine #3 "Remaking Globalisation!": "Revalue your clothes - implementing a circular textiles economy" by Sarah Keller. In it, she presents a concrete initiative for a fairer and more sustainable fashion industry: the A-Gain Guide.
