The EU has banned the destruction of unsold clothes: what it means for textile and apparel companies

On 9 February 2026 the European Commission adopted two acts that change the rules for the textile industry. They put into practice the ban on destroying unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear set by the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).

For textile and apparel companies across Europe, this changes how unsold stock has to be managed. It is also a preview of the product passport that will follow.

What exactly is changing?

The ESPR and the two new acts set out three things:

1. A ban on destroying unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear: large companies may no longer destroy these products from 19 July 2026. A delegated act lists the justified exceptions, for example for safety reasons or damaged goods, and national authorities oversee compliance.
2. Disclosure: companies must report the volumes of unsold consumer products they discard. An implementing act sets a standard format for that disclosure, which applies from early 2027.
3. Who is covered: micro and small enterprises are exempt. Medium-sized companies are expected to follow in 2030.

The scale of the problem: the Commission estimates that 4–9% of unsold textiles in Europe are destroyed before ever being worn, producing around 5.6 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions, almost as much as Sweden's total net emissions in 2021.

The Digital Product Passport runs on a separate clock

The destruction ban is not the passport. The ESPR delegated act for textile passports is expected in 2027 on the Commission's indicative timetable, and its requirements will apply only after a transition period of at least 18 months. Realistically, that points to around 2029.

That sounds distant. The preparation is not, because it depends on:

• Supply-chain data: materials, origin and processes across the whole chain.
• Data carriers: QR codes or NFC tags on each item.
• Life-cycle information: how the product can be repaired and recycled.

Why now rather than later

Large brands and retailers are already changing how they select suppliers, and they will ask for passport data as their own obligations approach. Factories that cannot supply it as standard risk being replaced by those that can.

This is a question of market access, not only of ecology.

A roadmap: how to prepare

1. Start now

• Data audit: do you know the exact material composition of each product?
• Supplier mapping: can your suppliers give you reliable information?

2. Over the next 12 months

• Evaluate platforms: compare DPP software against the data you actually hold.
• Pilot: apply the requirements to a single product line first.

3. Before the textile requirements apply

• Automation: connect your production systems so that passport data is generated rather than typed in.

How DigitalProductPassport helps

DigitalProductPassport is a cloud platform built by WIARA, a software company based in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. It publishes digital product passports in all 24 official EU languages and keeps public, professional and authority data apart.

Why textile and apparel SMEs choose DigitalProductPassport:

• Transparent pricing: a free plan with 3 passports in total, then paid plans from €33 to €419 a month including VAT.
• 24 EU languages: enter the data once and publish the passport in every official EU language.
• Practical help: we do not just provide software; we help you structure the data.

Start with the data you already have. The rest can be built step by step.