The Danish Ministry of the Environment announced last month that it will proceed with its planned national ban on the import and sale of PFAS in clothing, footwear, and consumer-use waterproofing agents for clothing and footwear. The Order will officially enter into force on 1 July 2025, with the ban becoming applicable from 1 July 2026.

EuroCommerce, which is said to be the leading European organisation representing the retail and wholesale sector, published a joint industry position paper on 19 March 2025, on a specific provision of the new Ecodesign for Sustainable Product Regulation (ESPR), namely, its Article 24. This provision introduces an obligation on large and medium-sized companies to disclose information on the discarding of unsold consumer products. The European Commission is mandated to adopt implementing acts setting out the details and format for the disclosure, including the delimitation of product groups and how to verify such information.

The European Recycling Industries’ Confederation (EuRIC), a leading voice of recycling industries in Europe announced, on 20 March 2024, the publication of its textile branch’s manifesto, ‘EU Recyclers’ Manifesto: Increasing Textiles Circularity by 2030’. This document outlines five key policy recommendations intended to advance circularity within the textile sector and to support a more sustainable economic model by the end of the decade.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is seeking public input by 18 April on a petition submitted by the American Apparel and Footwear Association to permit digital labelling of apparel in lieu of physical labels.

The ASEAN retail e-commerce sector is growing rapidly, this is particularly the case for the bloc’s six largest economies – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam (the ASEAN-6). In order to assist Hong Kong SMEs as they look to refine their ASEAN-oriented e-commerce strategies, HKTDC Research conducted a quantitative survey of over 1,800 online shoppers in the ASEAN-6 countries, seeking to identify their spending patterns, preferences, and perceptions of Hong Kong brands.

The National Assembly, France’s lower house of Parliament, gave the final green light to a law banning PFAS in clothing, footwear, cosmetics and ski wax late last month. The ban will take effect on 1 January 2026 and will be extended to all textiles, barring essential uses, from 2030.

Hungarian expo marks 15th edition by championing regional culture and aesthetics, with brands fusing functionality and natural inspirations.

CBP has reclassified certain women’s pants as women’s clothing with an outer surface covered with plastics under HTSUS 6210.50.75 (3.3 percent duty) rather than as women’s cotton garments under HTSUS 6104.62.2006 (14.9 percent duty). Any Mainland China-originating merchandise will still face a 7.5 percent additional duty under Section 301 as well as the recently imposed 20 percent additional duty, while any Hong Kong-originating merchandise will face the 20 percent additional duty.

The European Commission has commended the informal agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council on the targeted revision of the Waste Framework Directive (“WFD”). The amended WFD is intended to promote a circular economy throughout the EU, notably by fostering innovation and moving towards more sustainable industrial and consumer practices. This is viewed as a significant step forward in addressing both textile and food waste. A key feature of the revised Directive is its common set of rules that are intended increase sustainability for businesses and consumers, and harmonise the single market for used and discarded textiles.

2025 will see the beginning of the implementation of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). The setting of sector-specific rules will begin in earnest in February 2025, with the first meeting of the Ecodesign Forum scheduled for 19 and 20 February. Under the ESPR, ecodesign requirements for a wide variety of sectors are expected. While the full list of the sectors is not public yet, the sectors under discussion include textiles (notably garments and footwear), furniture, bed mattresses, tyres, detergents, paints and varnishes, cosmetics, toys, fishing gear, absorbent hygiene products, energy-related products, and ICT products/other electronics.