Each year, Europe destroys between 264,000 and 594,000 tonnes of textiles, representing 4-9% of all products introduced to the market, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA). This stark reality clashes with a European textile sector generating €167 billion in turnover, where millions of tonnes of unsold and returned clothing are routinely discarded. From 19 July 2026, large companies will be prohibited from destroying unsold clothes, accessories, and footwear, as reported by Tradebe.

This legislative shift compels brands to embrace sustainability and circularity through innovative inventory management, repair, and recycling, or face severe financial and reputational repercussions, according to europarl. The impending EU ban will particularly challenge fast fashion's business model, exposing the unsustainable core of high online return rates, while luxury brands may find adaptation simpler due to their established operational models.

The Hidden Waste of Unworn Goods

The average share of unsold textile products is 21%, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA). While Europe's overall textile destruction rate is 4-9%, this 21% figure reveals a systemic inefficiency: a significant portion of new textiles never reaches consumers. Existing methods for managing excess inventory are insufficient, particularly when considering the drastic difference in destruction rates between general unsold inventory and online returns.

Why So Much Is Destroyed: The Returns Problem

Online shopping's convenience directly fuels a disproportionate amount of textile waste. The average return rate for clothing bought online in Europe is 20%, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA). A critical EEA finding reveals that 22-43% of all returned online clothing is destroyed. The figure of 22-43% of all returned online clothing being destroyed is drastically higher than the overall destruction rate for all textile products, exposing an acute waste problem within e-commerce reverse logistics. Companies heavily reliant on e-commerce face an immediate, costly challenge to re-engineer their reverse logistics, as simply reselling returned items is clearly not the current practice.