NEWS

A new CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) is currently being developed to establish guidelines aimed at enabling and optimizing data collection along textile supply chains, with the objective of improving traceability, transparency, and sustainability claims, in line with European regulations. This CWA will build upon the outcomes of the TRICK project, a research and innovation initiative funded by the Horizon 2020 program, which leverages blockchain technology to support circular economy principles and product traceability.

On 5 July 2023, the European Commission published their proposal for the revision of the Waste Framework Directive, whose primary aim is to update its approach to food and textile waste. In a policy paper written in response to the proposal, CEN and CENELEC welcome the increased focus on these two types of waste and put forward suggestions on how to implement the revision.

The Covid-19 pandemic made the need for shared rules on community face coverings particularly urgent. In response, CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, developed in record time an initial deliverable that could provide the necessary guidelines: CEN Workshop Agreement 17553:2020 ‘Community face coverings - Guide to minimum requirements, methods of testing and use’. Although a Workshop Agreement (also known as CWA) does not count as an official standard, as it involves no obligation at the national level, thanks to its simplified format it can be produced and disseminated very quickly, and therefore it can help fill urgent needs.