French govt. is going to introduce a project that will subsidize repairs to apparel and shoes to cut waste and global warming pollution from the textile industry in a bid to enforce a circular economy.
Under the project, which was announced by Secretary of State for Ecology Bérangère Couillard recently, discounts variable from €6 ($7) to €25 ($28) will be accessible dependent on the situation of the repair.
For example, a modest piece of restitching will get a €6 subsidy, while resoling a pair of shoes will avail a €25 rebate.
Bérangère Couillard said, “It could inspire exactly the people who have bought, for example, shoes from a brand that makes good-quality shoes or likewise good-quality ready-to-wear to want to have them fixed instead of getting rid of them. And that is exactly the objective, to create a circular economy for shoes and textiles so that products last longer, because in government we believe in the second life of a product.”
Couillard said the textile industry was on course to account for a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the second most polluting industry in the world.
“What I hope is that the French will become aware of what we can see, that is the impact of the textile industry across the world today,” she said.
“So, they can themselves realize the aberration of how we now consume,” Couillard added.
The Ministry of Ecology has directed a French private organization called Refashion to start the scheme.
Seamsters, garments brands and repair shops can join the initiative for free by Refashion, which will collect a small ‘eco-contribution’ on sales to cover the funding. The French government will not fund the project, which is scheduled to start in October.
For consumers, the subsidy will be taken directly off their bill. Refashion will then arrange for the signed companies to be repaid within 15 days.
Refashion declares 3.3 billion pieces of clothing, shoes and household linen were put on the market in France in 2022 and, according to the ministry, 700,000 tons of clothes are discarded by French people each year, two-thirds of which end up in landfills.
