Vestiaire Collective
Vestiaire Collective is a leading global online marketplace for desirable pre-loved fashion and a certified B Corporation.
ID: 559066047022-87
Lobbying Activity
Meeting with Malte Gallée (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)
9 Oct 2023 · Waste Framework Directive
Response to Waste Framework review to reduce waste and the environmental impact of waste management
12 Sept 2023
Madam, Sir, Paris Good Fashion and Vestiaire Collective are committed to joining forces with EU policymakers to face the challenge of textile waste export. In order to be as useful and concrete as possible, we carried out a 6-month survey and drew up a position paper on behalf of the 100 companies we represent. You will find it attached, and we would be delighted to come and present our recommendations to you in person. Used textiles collected within the EU are predominantly exported, primarily to African and Asian countries, without sufficient control over their quality or subsequent fate. The immense quantities involved, the highly uncertain quality of these textiles, and the inadequate local waste management infrastructure, often result in their deposition in open landfills, placing unacceptable strain on our environment and local communities. After conducting expert interviews and consulting its members, Paris Good Fashion (PGF) & Vestiaire Collective (VC) are calling all the actors from the textile industry, from producers to waste organizations, to unlock a socially responsible and circular textiles market by implementing these essential ingredients: 1. Consider potential shortcomings of the Waste Hierarchy through independent environmental and social impact assessment. 2. Establish consistent EU-wide criteria for end-of-waste and by-product classification to enhancethe quality and homogeneity of textiles destined for reuse. 3. Require quality standards for the composition of textile bales for export, with regular auditsto check compliance, as part of the revised Waste Framework Directive (WFD). 4. Promote stronger accountability: accreditation and performance controls of sorting facilities. 5. Ensure the demonstrated capacity of receiving countries to deal with both textile waste and used garments. 6. Leverage the knowledge of Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) to support capacity building in countries without existing textile waste management infrastructure. As advocates for sustainable fashion, we firmly believe in the importance of addressing the environmental impact of shipping used garments and textile waste overseas. We are ready to contribute our expertise and insights to help shape effective policies that prioritize reuse and waste management within the EU. Hortense Pruvost and Isabelle Lefort will be happy to arrange a meeting with you as soon as possible. hortense.pruvost@vestiairecollective.com isabelle@parisgoodfashion.com Please find attached our position paper. Thank you for your attention. We look forward to hearing from you.
Read full responseResponse to Initiative on EU taxonomy - environmental objective
3 May 2023
Vestiaire Collective is a French online platform for second-hand fashion, specialised in the sale of second-hand luxury clothing and accessories, thus contributing to the circular economy and the promotion of sustainable fashion. We have reviewed the Commission's proposal for a Commission Taxonomy Environmental Delegated act and welcome the opportunity to provide feedback. COMMENT ON THE ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION: We broadly acknowledge the inclusion of the economic activities 5.4. Sale of second-hand goods and 5.6. Marketplace for the trade of second-hand goods for reuse to the list of activities that contribute substantially to the transition to a circular economy under certain conditions and DNSH criteria. However, we find that the logic of separating the two activities 5.4. Sale of second-hand goods and 5.6. Marketplace for the trade of second-hand goods for reuse could be further clarified as we find it difficult to know which of these two categories best applies to a company like Vestiaire Collective. COMMENT ON THE ACTIVITY DO NO SIGNIFICANT HARM CRITERIA: With regard to the DNSH criteria, in particular those relating to Sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources (Appendix B) and Pollution prevention and control (Appendix C), we believe that it would be relevant to introduce the notion of materiality given that the impact of a company such as Vestiaire Collective on water and pollution is negligible as the only use of water is for sanitary purposes and that no chemicals are involved in our operations. COMMENT ON THE ACTIVITY SUBSTANTIAL CONTRIBUTION CRITERIA: With regard to the contribution criteria, we would like to comment on the fact that only negative impacts are considered while we believe positive or avoided impacts would also be relevant criteria. We also question the representativeness of the criteria retained. We believe, for example, that for second-hand companies, the transportation of goods or over-consumption issues are more impactful in terms of order of magnitude than those of packaging (for 5.4. Sale of second-hand goods) or data storage and data centres (5.6. Marketplace for the trade of second-hand goods for reuse) Indeed, in terms of orders of magnitude, for a company like Vestiaire Collective, the impacts are mainly caused by the transportation of products sold between our users. On the other hand, our impact measurements show that our service avoids more GHG emissions than we generate ourselves. We believe that within the framework of the EU Taxonomy and its ambition to help direct investments towards green activities, it would be useful to establish a methodological framework for measuring both impacts and avoided impacts. This would allow a better understanding of the contribution of different actors and a better comparison between them. While all resellers have a better impact than first hand players, the extent of their positive impact can vary considerably from one reseller to another.
Read full responseMeeting with Helena Braun (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and The Or Foundation
6 Feb 2023 · Implementation of the EU Strategy for Circular and Sustainable Textiles, in particular the preparation of the extended producer responsibility rules