Key actions for sustainable and circular textiles: Stopping the destruction of unsold or returned textiles?
Destroying unsold or returned goods, including clothing, is a waste of value and resources. As a disincentive for this practice, under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, the Commission proposes a transparency obligation requiring large companies to publicly disclose the number of products they discard and destroy, including textiles, and their further treatment in terms of preparing for reuse, recycling, incineration or landfilling. Subject to receiving the empowerment under the proposed Regulation and a dedicated impact assessment, the Commission will also introduce bans on the destruction of unsold products, including as appropriate, unsold or returned textiles.
Furthermore, digital tools are changing how clothing is designed, manufactured and serviced around the world, enabling new ways for retailers and consumers to interact, creating a more dynamic reaction to consumer needs. The Commission will assess with industry, in particular in the context of the Transition Pathway for the Textiles Ecosystem, how emerging technologies, such as digital precision technologies, could reduce the high percentage of returns of clothing bought online, encourage on-demand custom manufacturing, and in this way improve the efficiencies of industrial processes and reduce the carbon footprint of e-commerce.
Source: European Comission