The EU ban on destroying unsold clothes and shoes (ESPR): what traders need to know

Since 19 July 2026, large companies may no longer destroy unsold clothing, clothing accessories and footwear in the EU. The rule comes from the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, usually called the ESPR. Medium-sized companies follow from 19 July 2030. For the stocklot trade this matters in two ways: more brands and retailers need a legal outlet for unsold stock, and buyers of that stock should understand the rules their suppliers work under.

The rules in short

Company size follows the EU definition in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC. In short, a medium-sized enterprise has fewer than 250 employees and either an annual turnover of at most EUR 50 million or a balance sheet total of at most EUR 43 million. Above that, a company is large. The headcount and financial figures of linked and partner companies can count too, so a small subsidiary of a large group is usually treated as large.

What counts as unsold, and what counts as destruction

Two definitions in the ESPR decide how wide the ban is.

• Unsold consumer product covers any product mainly intended for consumers that has not been sold. That includes surplus stock, excess inventory and deadstock, and also products returned by consumers under their right of withdrawal (the 14-day cooling-off period for online purchases, or a longer period offered by the retailer). Components and intermediate products are not included.
• Destruction means intentionally damaging a product or discarding it as waste. Sending goods to recycling, energy recovery or landfill all count. Discarding goods only so they can be prepared for re-use, such as refurbishment or remanufacturing, does not.

So for a large company, shredding unsold shirts for fibre recycling is destruction just as much as incineration is. Selling the shirts on, donating them or having them repaired and resold is not.

Which products are covered

Annex VII of the ESPR lists the products under the ban. For now that is apparel, clothing accessories (such as hats, ties, belts and scarves) and footwear, identified by their customs codes. The Commission can add other product groups later through delegated acts. Other consumer products are not under the ban, but large companies that discard them still have to disclose it under Article 24.

The exceptions

The Commission set out when destruction is still allowed in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/296, adopted on 9 February 2026. The derogations apply alongside the ban. In summary, destruction can be justified when:

• Safety: the product is dangerous, for example under the General Product Safety Regulation or chemicals law.
• Defects and non-compliance: the product does not comply with the law and destruction is required or the appropriate corrective action, or a defect makes it unusable and repair is not technically feasible.
• Damage: the product is unfit for use because of damage, deterioration, contamination or hygiene reasons, and repair or refurbishment is not technically feasible or not cost-effective.
• Intellectual property: the product infringes IP rights (counterfeits, for example), or a licence or contract forbids further sale and protected labels or logos cannot be removed or covered.
• Donation failed: the product was offered for donation to social economy organisations in the EU, or offered publicly as required by the delegated act, and nobody took it.

The company has to document why a derogation applies and keep that record for five years. Even then, the normal waste hierarchy applies: recycling before other recovery, and recovery before disposal.

The disclosure duty

Under Article 24, a company covered by the rules that discards unsold consumer products, itself or through someone else, must publish once a year, clearly visible on its website, how many products and what weight it discarded, by type or category; the reasons; how much went to re-use preparation, remanufacturing, recycling, energy recovery and disposal; and what it does to prevent destruction. The duty applies to all unsold consumer products, not only clothing and shoes. A Commission implementing regulation, adopted in February 2026, fixes a standard format for these reports from 2027.

For traders, the disclosure duty has a practical side: a brand that sells its unsold stock instead of discarding it has fewer numbers to report and a better story to tell. That is a fair argument when you approach a brand or retailer about buying their surplus.

What it means for the stocklot trade

For buyers

• Expect more offers of unsold apparel, footwear and accessories from large brands and retailers, and of customer returns, which the rules explicitly cover.
• Brands that sell surplus often still want control over where it ends up. Contracts may restrict sales channels or regions, or require labels to be removed. Read them before you resell.
• Ask where the goods come from and keep the paperwork. Our guide on buying branded goods legally in the EU explains what to ask for.
• Damaged and hygiene-sensitive goods may still be destroyed legally, but that is a narrow exception. Most unsold stock now has to find a buyer, donee or re-use route.

For sellers

• Selling surplus to other businesses is one of the legal routes the Commission itself points to, alongside resale, remanufacturing, donation and re-use.
• Keep records of what you sold, to whom and when. If you are covered by the disclosure duty, they support your report; if you are not, they show buyers the stock is genuine.
• Smaller companies are outside the ban but often supply, or buy from, large ones. Do not take stock from a large company with the purpose of destroying it.

If you have unsold apparel or footwear, you can list it on BrandedStocklots and reach B2B buyers directly. Buyers can browse stock lot clothing, stock lot shoes, bags and fashion accessories or the whole clothing and fashion and shoes categories. Our selling guide covers pricing and manifests.