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This article is provided by BRC Associate Member, UL Solutions.

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Every year in Europe, an estimated 4% to 9% of unsold textiles are destroyed before ever being worn. This waste generates around 5.6 million tons of CO2 emissions. In Europe, the average return rate for online clothing purchases is estimated at 20% — one in every five garments sold online is returned. The European Environment Agency estimates that 22% to 43%, or on average one third of all returned clothing bought online, ends up being destroyed [1].

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) establishes a framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products, including measures to prevent the destruction of certain unsold clothes. Adopted as Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council on June 13, 2024, the ESPR amends Directive (EU) 2020/1828 and Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 and repeals Directive 2009/125/EC [2].

Article 25 of the ESPR introduces measures to prevent the destruction of unsold clothing, accessories and footwear. The scope of these measures is defined by specific customs codes, listed in Annex VII of the ESPR. The article also requires companies to disclose information about unsold consumer products that they discard as waste.

In February 2026, the European Commission adopted the following measures:

  • A Commission Delegated Regulation [3], clarifying derogations and outlining specific and justified circumstances under which the destruction will be permitted.
  • A Commission Implementing Regulation [4] establishing the details and the format for businesses to disclose information on unsold consumer goods they discard and the delimitation of certain product categories for such information disclosure.

In this regard, while ESPR generally bans the destruction of unsold goods to reduce environmental waste, the Delegated Regulation contains exemptions under any of the following circumstances:

  • Safety and legality – The product is dangerous (per applicable safety regulation) or fails to meet other legal standards, making destruction the necessary corrective action.
  • Intellectual property (IP) – The goods are found to be counterfeit, infringe on IP rights, or the sale or license period has expired.
  • Reuse unfeasibility – The product cannot be prepared for reuse because it is technically impossible to remove protected logos, brands or designs.
  • Damage and hygiene – The items are damaged, contaminated or deteriorated to the point where repair or refurbishment is either impossible or too expensive.
  • Manufacturing defects – The product has fundamental design or factory flaws that cannot be fixed.
  • Failed donation attempts – As a last resort, if none of the above apply, the product may be destroyed only if it was offered for donation (to at least three social entities or via a public website for eight weeks) and was not accepted, or if a social entity received it but could not find a recipient.
  • Failed secondary markets – The product was received by a social economy entity located within the Union as a donation, but no recipient could be found for it; or the product was made available on the market after being prepared for reuse by a waste treatment operator, but no recipient could be found for it.

For large companies, the ban on destroying unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear, and the derogations, start on July 19, 2026. For medium-sized companies, the ban applies from July 19, 2030. Micro and small enterprises are not subject to the ban at this time. The Implementing Regulation contains an Annex I with the format for the disclosure of information on discarded unsold consumer products. Economic operators are required to keep detailed electronic records for five years after destroying unsold consumer products under these specific derogations.

The disclosure of information on discarded unsold consumer products shall be delimited based on the first two digits of the relevant customs codes (with the exception of products listed in Annex II of the Implementing Act, for which the first four digits shall be considered).

The Implementing Regulation shall apply to products discarded in each financial year as from the first full financial year after March 2, 2027, with information to be disclosed within 12 months after the end of that financial year.

Sources: 
[1] https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/the-destruction-of-returned-and-unsold-textiles-in-europes-circular-economy#:~:text=Including%20both%20extremes%20shows%20that,through%20the%20introduction%20of%20policies . 
[2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32024R1781  
[3] https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/commission-delegated-regulation-setting-out-derogations-prohibition-destruction-unsold-consumer_en  
[4] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202600002 

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