EU now bans large firms from destroying unsold clothes and shoes

As of July 19, 2026, large companies operating in the EU can no longer destroy unsold clothing, accessories, or footwear. The rule is the first concrete measure under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which took effect in 2024, and it targets textiles first because current fast-fashion business models routinely dump usable stock. Medium-sized companies get a reprieve until 2030, while small and micro-businesses are exempt from the reporting burden entirely.

Rather than trashing overstock, firms must now prioritize keeping goods in circulation — selling them (including at a discount or via secondary markets), donating them to charities, or repairing and refurbishing them for reuse. Destruction is permitted only in narrow cases: items that are unsafe, damaged, counterfeit, IP-infringing, or refused by donation schemes. Companies invoking those exemptions have to document their justification and publish annual reports on what they discarded, with national authorities empowered to inspect five years of records and levy fines for violations.

The scale explains the crackdown: the European Environment Agency estimates 4–9% of textiles put on the EU market are destroyed before ever being used, between 264,000 and 594,000 tonnes a year. To limit red tape, the Commission is reusing existing customs and logistics codes for compliance reporting. It’s a supply-chain and circular-economy play that forces retailers to build reverse logistics for unsold inventory rather than writing it off to the incinerator.