Brussels, 15th February 2023
The Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI) strongly welcomes the official opening by the EU Commission of an infringement procedure[1] against France regarding the “Triman Decree” on waste sorting instructions. In fact, the development of national labeling requirements throughout the EU is currently creating a severe fragmentation of the European internal market, legal uncertainty for companies, not to mention strong negative environmental impacts. France now has two months to respond to the Commission’s concerns.
“Today’s decision, while a bit late, is non the less a step in the right direction for our industry and the European market as a whole!”, declared Jérôme Pero, FESI Secretary General. “The current growing patchwork of national-specific labelling requirements represents a major issue for sporting goods companies selling textile products in the EU, which is why FESI has been advocating for a long time for an EU-wide and digitalized approach in this area.”, he concluded.
To be placed on the French market, household products belonging to an extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme have to be materially labelled with the “Triman logo”, signage informing that the product is the object of sorting rules, and the ‘”Infotri”, information specifying the methods for sorting. However, as correctly underlined by the Commission in its decision, the imposition of national-specific labelling requirements risks undermining the principle of free movement of goods and can lead to counterproductive environmental effects. While FESI fully supports the objectives of informing consumers on how to better sort their textile waste and move toward a more circular economy, the introduction by France of the so-called “Triman logo” is currently creating a fragmentation of the European internal market and generates legal uncertainty and unnecessary extra costs for companies marketing products in the EU, as well as consumers’ confusion of having distinct national labels across Member States.
Tackling the growing source of waste, including textiles, is crucial to move to a more circular economy. However, FESI remains convinced that to be effectively addressed, this challenge should be primarily managed at a European level, in line with the recent revision of the packaging and packaging waste regulation[2] proposed by the European Commission.
Considering that the infringement procedure does not suspend the enforcement of the “Triman” in France and that this situation creates a grey zone for market operators and consumers, FESI now hopes that the European Commission and France will rapidly find a constructive solution and that the present decision will encourage other Member States to favor the European approach.
[1] https://ec.europa.eu/atwork/applying-eu-law/infringements-proceedings/infringement_decisions/index.cfm?lang_code=EN&typeOfSearch=false&active_only=0&noncom=0&r_dossier=INFR%282022%294028&decision_date_from=&decision_date_to=&title=&submit=Search
[2] https://environment.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-11/Proposal%20for%20a%20Regulation%20on%20packaging%20and%20packaging%20waste.pdf
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About FESI: The Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry (FESI) is the pre-competitive platform representing the interests of the sporting goods industry in Europe, advancing its members’ priorities and promoting initiatives that benefit the sector, EU citizens and the society as a whole. FESI is the sole stakeholder that provides sporting goods companies with the possibility to leverage their expertise into one steady and coherent voice.
Contact: Ariane Gatti, FESI Communication Manager / [email protected] / +32 (0)2 762 86 48
