From July 19, 2026, unsold textiles can no longer be destroyed within the European Union. This measure marks a major turning point for the fashion industry.
From July 19, 2026, unsold textiles can no longer be destroyed within the European Union. This measure marks a major turning point for the fashion industry. For decades, the destruction of surpluses constituted a discreet but structural adjustment variable in production chains. Tomorrow, this practice will be a thing of the past.
This development is a necessary environmental step forward. But it does not alone resolve the fundamental question: what to do with all these products which no longer find their place in traditional marketing channels?
To answer this question, it is still necessary to distinguish between realities often grouped under the same term of “unsold goods”, even though they relate to very different issues.
Two categories of unsold items, two different answers
Unsold items do not constitute a homogeneous whole. On the one hand, there are new products, never sold or used, which result from excess production or imperfect anticipation of demand. For these items, the answer lies mainly upstream: finding resale channels sometimes untapped by brands (private sales, personal sales, etc.)
On the other hand, there is a category of products whose situation is different. These are items that have been excluded from traditional sales channels without having lost their use value: e-commerce returns, products with a minor defect, try-on or display items.
These products are not a symptom of overproduction. They are the natural consequences of a trading system that has become more complex, faster and more demanding. However, due to a lack of suitable solutions, they too often continue to be downgraded even though they could still be consumed. It is on this second source that an essential part of the transition towards a more circular economy is being played out today.
An economic value that is still largely underexploited
The scope of the subject is considerable. According to the European Commission, almost 600,000 tonnes of unsold textiles are destroyed each year in Europe, while the European Union generates more than 12 million tonnes of textile waste per year.
At the same time, the limitations of current solutions are well known. Only 22% of used textiles are collected separately for reuse or recycling, and less than 1% is recycled into new clothing.
Despite technological advances, recycling alone will not be able to absorb the volumes concerned. Constraints linked to fibers, industrial processes and processing costs still strongly limit its deployment.
The priority is therefore to preserve the value of products for as long as possible before they become waste. However, clothing returned after an online purchase or presenting a minor cosmetic defect retains, in the majority of cases, a significant market value. The real question is how to effectively put them back on the market.
The demand is already there
Consumers are well ahead of industry players on this subject. The spectacular rise of second-hand goods demonstrates that purchasing upcycled products is no longer seen as a default alternative. It is now part of consumption habits. Economic, environmental and purchasing power criteria converge to support this dynamic.
The challenge therefore no longer lies in market acceptance, but in its industrial capacity to absorb increasing volumes of products resulting from returns, downgrading or repackaging. In other words, the demand already exists. It is now the supply that must be organized.
Industrialize the second life of products
For a long time, sorting, reconditioning or remarketing activities were based on artisanal approaches. These models have demonstrated their relevance but are no longer sufficient to handle the volumes generated by e-commerce, fashion or mass distribution. The circular economy is now entering a new phase: that of its industrialization.
Like any major economic transformation, it requires a change of scale. You need to be able to process thousands, even tens of thousands of products every day. This involves standardizing operations, automating certain steps, strengthening traceability, developing suitable logistics infrastructures and creating new know-how.
The challenge is no longer simply to recover products. It is about building value chains capable of making revaluation as efficient, rapid and profitable as traditional new circuits.
An industrial opportunity for Europe
This transformation also represents a major economic opportunity. Unlike part of textile production, control, repair, reconditioning, sorting or remarketing activities require close proximity to consumption areas. They promote the creation of local jobs and develop skills at the intersection of logistics, technology and the circular economy.
The ban on the destruction of unsold goods should therefore not be considered solely as a regulatory constraint. It acts as a revealer of the changes already at work and accelerates the emergence of a new industry.
