{"id":558730,"date":"2026-07-20T08:57:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T08:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/558730\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T08:57:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T08:57:17","slug":"eu-ban-on-destroying-unsold-clothes-takes-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/558730\/","title":{"rendered":"EU ban on destroying unsold clothes takes effect"},"content":{"rendered":"

A ban on the disposal of unsold clothes and shoes\u00a0took effect across the European Union<\/a> on Sunday, in the bloc’s latest move to cut waste.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of thousands of tons of fashionwear are\u00a0destroyed every year across the 27-member EU\u00a0due to damage, old stock and\u00a0returned online orders.<\/p>\n

The new rule is expected to affect large fashion<\/a> retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers\u00a0of apparel \u2014 only 20% of which are\u00a0produced in the EU.<\/p>\n

What are the new rules?<\/p>\n

Under the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, large companies with more than 250 employees and over\u00a0\u20ac50 million in net annual turnover are banned from destroying stocks of unsold clothing, accessories and footwear.<\/p>\n

Firms must now find ways of selling the products, including via discounts, alternative markets and\u00a0charity donations.<\/p>\n

Unsold clothes can only be destroyed when items are\u00a0unsafe, damaged, counterfeit or rejected by charities, according to a post on the European Commission’s website.<\/p>\n

Companies are now required to publish annual reports on the goods they have discarded and keep records for five years.<\/p>\n

The regulation, which was approved by Brussels<\/a> more than\u00a0two years ago,\u00a0will be extended to medium-sized firms in 2030.<\/p>\n

\"ShoppersThe EU hopes the disposal ban will help cut CO2 emissionsImage: Photoshot\/picture alliance<\/p>\n

How big is the fashion waste issue?<\/p>\n

Concerns about so-called fast fashion<\/a> \u2014 low-cost, lower-quality mass-produced clothing \u2014\u00a0have grown significantly over the past decade.<\/p>\n

According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), around 4% to 9% of unsold textile products are destroyed each year.<\/p>\n

The waste has been exacerbated by rapid growth in online shopping and returns.<\/p>\n

Across the EU, one in five fashion goods ordered online is\u00a0later returned to the retailer and not resold.<\/p>\n

Combined, this amounts to hundreds of thousands of tons of clothes, accessories and footwear.<\/p>\n

The new ban aims to help reduce the impact on the environment<\/a>, as the incineration of millions of clothes hits efforts\u00a0to cut greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n

EU states are also under pressure to consider waste from raw materials, water,\u00a0energy and transport in the apparel sector\u00a0and to encourage\u00a0more recycling\u00a0and the reuse of products.<\/p>\n

In a recent LinkedIn post, the EEA said the bloc wanted the textile industry to become more sustainable.<\/p>\n

“A circular economy \u2014 where products are designed to last, and are reused, repaired and recycled \u2014 is no longer just a vision, but is being embedded in law through these new legislative measures,” the EEA wrote.<\/p>\n

The fashion industry has repeatedly defended its\u00a0tactics, noting that disposal\u00a0is often cheaper than storing, repairing\u00a0or discounting the products.<\/p>\n

\"PairsEnvironment groups hope the ban will cut waste and overproductionImage: Sergieiev\/Zoonar\/picture alliance<\/p>\n

What’s the reaction to the ban?<\/p>\n

The German Retail Federation (HDE) said consumers would benefit from the ban as more discounted apparel is put on sale through outlets, clearance markets and second-hand channels.\u00a0<\/p>\n

HDE Managing Director Stefan Genth warned, however, that the rule change would be a challenge for many stores.<\/p>\n

“Not all unsold goods can be resold or donated easily,” he said, due to\u00a0damaged packaging, high logistics costs, lack of demand or low product values.<\/p>\n

Edited by: Saim Du\u0161an Inayatullah<\/p>\n

Don’t let the algorithm hide the news. If you rely on our team for trusted reporting, please take a moment to select us as your Preferred news source on Google by clicking here<\/a>, so you’ll always see our verified news first.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A ban on the disposal of unsold clothes and shoes\u00a0took effect across the European Union on Sunday, in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":558731,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-558730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=558730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/558730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/558731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=558730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=558730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=558730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}