As part of the EU Ecodesign Regulation, the European Union plans to ban the destruction of unsold textiles and shoes. According to a communication from the European Council, negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers have agreed that the regulations for large companies will apply two years after the new rules come into force. A transition period of six years applies to medium-sized companies; small companies should be excluded. Details are still being determined.
This ban was to be expected given repeated reports with shocking images of mountains of textiles and clothing in Chile’s Acatama Desert or in African landfills. However, the media did not discuss where the goods shown came from in detail and whether they were (also) new. However, there was always an underlying reproach that large amounts of unused textiles could also be found in the mountains of rubbish.
It is therefore understandable that politicians are holding the fashion industry responsible for the increasingly difficult disposal situation for textiles and shoes. However, it is often overlooked that, according to BTE estimates, new goods in particular only make up a small fraction of the goods disposed of.
This is proven by a BTE survey of more than 200 fashion and shoe retailers from 2020. According to this, the destruction of unsold goods in the textile and shoe trade is extremely rare. Out of 1,000 items offered, only two to three are disposed of or recycled. And these are often goods that are damaged, dirty or have other defects, which sometimes cannot or may not even be sold! This does not take into account plagiarism, which is usually destroyed by the suppliers.
Logistically, the disposal of these items should not cause any problems. With a domestic availability (production plus import minus export) of 4.42 billion clothing items in 2022, the number of discarded new textiles from retailers is only around 4.4 million items per year. The number of old textiles disposed of, on the other hand, is likely to be many times higher and is therefore responsible for the mountains of waste.
Over a million people died in Germany in 2020. According to BTE estimates, on average, each deceased person owns at least 100 items of clothing (including socks, underwear, sports and work clothing, excluding shoes). According to BTE estimates, deaths alone account for at least 100 million discarded textiles. In addition, there are hundreds of millions of items of clothing that have to be sorted out every year due to damage, wear or fit problems and end up with the waste disposal company because there are no other options for use.
Conclusion: The proportion of new textiles and shoes in the total amount disposed of is extremely small and their recycling is often even necessary or necessary. Against this background, the BTE will work in the upcoming negotiations to ensure that this remains possible in the future without unnecessary bureaucratic effort.