The European Union’s ban on destroying unsold clothes took effect on 19 July, marking one of the bloc’s most ambitious moves yet towards a circular economy. The rule doesn’t just prohibit destroying unsold clothing, accessories and footwear, it effectively requires companies not to produce more than they can sell.
The measure is part of the EU’s broader Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), aimed at keeping products in circulation longer and reducing fashion’s environmental footprint.Announcing the measures, EU Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall said, “The textile sector is leading the way in the transition to sustainability but there are still challenges.” "The numbers on waste show the need to act," she added, arguing the rules would empower the sector to move towards sustainable, circular practices while boosting competitiveness and reducing dependencies.
Each year, four to nine per cent of all clothing and footwear placed on the European market is destroyed before ever being used — nearly 264,000 to 594,000 tonnes of brand-new textiles shredded or incinerated annually, producing up to 5.6 million tonnes of carbon emissions. At least one in five garments bought online is returned, and about a third of these end up destroyed; the rest eventually reach landfill.
Low-priced, mass-produced fast fashion compounds the problem. The ban forms part of a wider regulatory overhaul. Large companies must stop destroying unsold clothes immediately, medium-sized companies have until 19 July 2030 to comply, and small enterprises are exempt. The rules also prioritise reuse, repair, remanufacturing, resale or donation over disposal, and require large firms to publicly disclose how many unsold products they discard, why, and how much is reused, recycled or otherwise recovered.
The new rules complement the EU’s crackdown on “greenwashing”, where companies use vague terms like “eco-friendly”, “green” or “carbon neutral”. From 2024, such claims must be scientifically substantiated. The EU’s latest rules aim to push fashion’s business model towards a circular economy, stepping back from the make-use-dispose approach in favour of reuse, repair, refurbishment and recycling – forcing companies to rethink decisions from design through production.
Manufacturers are now expected to create products that are more durable, repairable and recyclable, which should in turn discourage overproduction and reshape inventory planning. The goal is to shift the sector from fast fashion’s waste-intensive model towards a more sustainable, resource-efficient system.
Luxury brands produce at a smaller scale than fast fashion, which might suggest lower waste – but in 2018, London-based Burberry came under fire after revealing it had destroyed millions of pounds’ worth of unsold clothing, accessories and cosmetics, prompting public backlash and a subsequent commitment to end the practice.
Luxury brands typically generate waste when discounted merchandise goes unsold, whereas fast fashion’s problem stems more from miscalculated forecasting, changing consumer preferences, and high return rates on goods bought online. The EU has steadily expanded its environmental regulation over the past decade, including measures banning specific single-use plastic items and, for smartphones sold in the bloc, mandating higher durability standards, independent repair access, and resistance to premature wear.
Impact on Asia
About 60 to 65 per cent of clothing sold in the EU is manufactured in India, China, Bangladesh and Vietnam, meaning the effects of the ban will inevitably reach these production hubs. Analysts have already warned the rule could trigger a bullwhip effect across Asian garment manufacturers, as retailers grow more cautious about ordering to avoid unsellable stock they can no longer simply discard.
A recent industry readiness assessment found that Vietnam, China and India lag well behind top EU suppliers like Portugal and Italy on ESPR compliance infrastructure – trailing on chemical traceability and tier-two supply chain data – with the gap expected to take 18 to 30 months to close. For India, Bangladesh and Vietnam, where garment exports are a major part of the economy, working closely with the EU’s circular fashion model, including greater traceability and smaller, more frequent production batches, will be essential to retaining access to one of the world's largest consumer markets.