Ms Claire Downey:

There is a lot in that and it is a very interesting question. I want to touch on the idea of perverse incentives. We need to look at the whole economy and all of our subsidies, taxes and measures that are in place and try to map out what is supporting and what is undermining reuse and repair activities. It is a huge challenge. We have already talked about the fact the low cost of new items is a barrier, and that is a global challenge. There are certainly things we can do locally. A further investigation into, for example, whether we are subsidising virgin plastic on the one hand and then seeing the problem of excessive textiles, which contain huge amounts of plastics, on the other hand, and then trying to apply some other measure to that. We need to have a better understanding of where the opportunities are. We mentioned other things like existing schemes and procurement, and seeing reuse and repair supported.

Regarding manufacturers and textiles, France has already done a lot and it is often the poster child in this area. France is doing a lot on banning unsold goods, eco-modulation and fast-fashion tax and so on. That is one to watch. There are many interesting lessons to come from this as well. I understand that the ban on unsold goods saw a lot of unsold goods being channelled into charity retail, which was not necessarily the best outcome in terms of trying to tackle the issue of overproduction in the first place. The whole measure needs to be carefully assessed in that sense. Of course, the commission is doing a huge amount on sustainable products and trying to ensure manufacturers design them in the first place to be durable, as well as working on labelling requirements also. While it is a very long game to play, it is essential this continues to progress.