Clothing memorandum D66 makes concrete what the Netherlands can do now to make fashion more sustainable
In the note Hagen appeals to the Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the State Secretary for Infrastructure and the Environment to take action on the basis of 16 proposals.
A real problem
Fashion pollutes the planet. Clothing production emits more impacts than aviation and shipping combined, and the toxic chemicals used poison ecosystems. Consumers are buying more and more clothing, but they are also throwing it away faster and 99 percent of it is not recycled but dumped. That is the equivalent of 764 thousand garbage trucks worth of precious raw materials.
The living environment, nature and biodiversity are protected in the circular economy in which the Netherlands is managed. That is why the sustainability policy for clothing production must be tightened up and that is exactly what D66 will achieve with this policy document.
Radical transparency
Brands like to communicate that they are working on sustainability – even if those actions don’t mean much or even confirm in practice. The memorandum states that 40 to 60% of the ‘green claims’ in the market are misleading. This is called ‘greenwashing’ and it is forbidden, but deviations are hardly punished. D66 therefore wants to increase the fines to 1 percent of the profit.
Read also: Research shows: H&M is greenwashing
The party also wants to prevent greenwashing by expanding the information obligation regarding sustainability. For example, returned items can often no longer be sold and end up in the waste pile. The consumer who orders three sizes is not aware of this. D66 therefore wants information about the return policy to be provided during the shopping experience.
Another idea around transparency is to develop a customer-friendly eco-score for clothing, such as the nutri-score on food. A ‘digital product passport’ is on the way, but it is mainly aimed at internal parties such as recyclers and sorters.
In conclusion, D66 wants the ACM investigation to focus on quality marks. There are too many of them and they miss their purpose of providing an overview. D66 argues for a top 10.