Sustainable regulation as driver for transformation in fashion industry
Authors: Pucci Elena , Claudia Coppola Maria 
Published: July 2023

The world is changing incrementally, exacerbating planetary boundaries
(Rockström et al., 2009) and, as such, current lifestyles. Environmental
pollution is gaining problematic levels, and the textile industry is
considered one of the main culprits. The textile supply chain creates
different types of waste and scrap that belong not only to the semi-finished
product but also to the goods needed in the production stages (Nayak, R.
2019).The textile production process is known to consume resources, once
considered unlimited, such as 'water, which now needs to be totally
recovered and treated, fuel from fossil resources and a variety of chemicals
on a large scale. Industry estimates show that more than 35 percent of
chemicals released into the environment are the result of various textile
treatment and dyeing processes (Thiry 2011). In the Italian landscape there
are many examples of companies operating in the textile sector, where we
find the closed cycle of production wastewater.The urgency of transitioning
to circular and sustainable models has led governments to dwell on the role
of textile companies with regard to sustainability, noting that they do not
seem to be reforming at a pace and scale that would considerably combat
environmental and climate change. The question that arises concerns the
emergence of a number of new regulatory proposals and how they will impact
within textile companies. Although most of the newer proposals are still a
long way from becoming law, some regulations require textile companies to
review the way they produce and communicate the nature of their products,
involving EU manufacturers, importers, and retailers in the round.As part of
the Circular Economy Action Plan, in March 2022, the EU published the
"Sustainable Textiles Strategy 2030," which focuses on circularity of
textiles and making brands responsible for waste sent to landfills (Digital
Agenda Eu. 2022) and aims to make textiles more durable, repairable,
reusable and recyclable. It also pledges to combat fast fashion and unsold
textiles and ensure that they are produced with respect for social
rights.The European Commission has made its regulatory proposals official,
including the proposed Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, or
Espr, which establishes a framework for improving product circularity.Thus,
the role of design becomes critical for a more rational use of resources in
the development of new products (Thorpe, 2007; Fletcher & Grose, 2012;
Fletcher, 2014), which should be designed in a way that reduces waste,
scrap, pollutants, and pollution, reaching the zero-waste goal. The
treatment of this issue poses two different studies from the outset because
the complexities between waste and waste generation in pre-consumption and
post-consumption are different.If it is true that rules and standards are
the lever of transformation the designer will have to come up with a new
design process in compliance with the standard but producing innovation and
making sustainability a tangible value in the value chain of the
semi-finished or finished product.