EU to the peasants: You will wear baggy, second-hand and recycled clothing, and you will be happy

no spandex for us, thank you, we’re green!

Clothing manufacturers gearing up to meet coming EU regulatory edict

Clothing companies could start selling more garments made from a single material this coming decade, a major shift in response to a European Union plan to require apparel to be longer lasting and recyclable.

Clothes often contain a mix of fibers, including organics, such as cotton grown on farms, and synthetics, such as polyester refined usually from petroleum. Garments with multiple materials—such as a T-shirt made from 99% cotton and 1% spandex—are difficult to recycle because separating the fibers is tricky.

Currently, less than 1% of the world’s textile waste is recycled into new clothes, with the bulk ending up in trash heaps. The EU wants to change this, and the relatively short time frame promises to challenge the big players in fast-fashion, which may have to retool their design processes and rethink their sourcing.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, published a plan in March that aims to put “fast fashion out of fashion” by 2030, referring to the trend of people buying clothes and throwing them out in less than a year. Clothing should be “long-lived and recyclable, to a great extent made of recycled fibers,” the EU said.

We’ve see this before: Dress in Communist China

The Chinese Revolution led by the Communists in 1949 was a widespread social as well as political upheaval. Almost overnight it changed the lifestyle and clothing of people in even the most remote villages of China. Once Communist troops were established in cities, they sent in administrators to issue uniforms to workers in various industries. Factory workers and technicians were issued dark blue cotton cloth uniforms that were almost identical to the standard green Communist military uniform. Administrative and clerical workers were outfitted in gray versions of the same clothes. Men and women wore exactly the same garments. Before long the Communist Party's grip on the country and its fashions was secure.

Chinese clothing quickly became standardized. While no direct orders were issued, it became generally understood that it was not patriotic to dress fashionably. People dressed in blue or gray cotton, padded for winter wear, and clothing made of expensive fabric was discouraged. Western-style suits disappeared almost overnight, replaced by the gray Chinese tunic suit. Women put away their stylish silk stockings and high-heeled shoes and instead put on their shabbiest clothes. Cosmetics and jewelry disappeared from view. Those who refused to comply with the new style could expect a public reprimand or a lecture from one of the local Communist Party officials.

By the way, they’re coming for plastic wrap next.

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