The EU buys roughly 4.5 million tonnes of fast-fashion textiles each year. Over 5.8 million low-value e-commerce parcels enter the bloc every day, with brands like Shein, Temu and AliExpress attracting more than 400 million monthly shoppers.
More than 90 per cent of these e-commerce clothing items are made from cheap synthetic polymers such as polyester, elastane and nylon. These garments are essentially soft plastics that do not biodegrade and eventually become microplastics.
