What: EU is attempting to tackle the fast fashion recycling topic, but ends up nowhere useful.

Why it is important: Whatever happens to fast fashion will one day or another apply to fashion as a whole. A recycling tax might be a reality soon.

The European Commission is proposing that the fashion industry should pay for processing discarded clothing to encourage the use of more recyclable materials and offer repair services. This move is in response to the significant environmental impact of the fashion industry, with nearly 80% of garment waste in the EU ending up in landfill or incinerators.

However, critics argue that the plan fails to address the majority of the industry's environmental damage, which arises from the production process rather than disposal. Examples include the large water footprint in jean production and harmful cotton monocultures in China and India.

Larger European fashion companies, like H&M, are already increasing the use of recycled materials, but technologies for such use are still developing and have their own environmental challenges.

EU recycling plans for fast fashion face thorny externalities