The environmental impact of unsold textiles and the ban on their destruction

Returned and unsold products, including overstocks, end-of-season or discontinued collections, damaged or recalled items, represent a significant share of the textiles placed on the EU market. Returns are estimated at 20% of online garment sales, while the share of unsold products averages 21% of total stock across available studies. An estimated 264,000–594,000 tonnes of returned and unsold textiles are destroyed every year without ever being used, whether through incineration, landfilling or recycling. The associated greenhouse gas emissions, calculated based on the impact of producing these textiles are estimated at up to 5.6 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent¹.

This issue has been addressed at the EU level by the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR): since 19 July 2026, large enterprises have been prohibited from destroying unsold apparel and footwear, subject to specific derogations, and the ban will extend to medium-sized enterprises from 19 July 2030. In this framework, economic operators are expected to take measures to prevent the destruction of unsold products, for instance by keeping them in use through resale, donation or preparation for reuse, including repair.

La Cravate Solidaire: professional clothing to support access to employment

La Cravate Solidaire is a network of 15 non-profit organisations based in different French cities, the first of which was established in Paris in 2012. The network’s primary aim is to counter discrimination in hiring, particularly on the grounds of physical appearance. To this end, its Coup de Pouce programme provides jobseekers with professional clothing together with coaching to prepare for job interviews. La Cravate Solidaire’s activities rely on more than 160 employees and 2,000 volunteers.

Growing brand donations under the French regulatory framework

Part of the clothing provided to jobseekers is donated by brands. Such donations have been supported, among other factors, by the AGEC law (Loi Anti-Gaspillage pour une Economie Circulaire), adopted in France in 2020, which banned the destruction of unsold products, with the ban applying to clothing and footwear since 2022. The law identifies donation as an alternative to destruction, and a separate tax incentive supports this option: eligible in-kind donations may qualify for a 60% tax reduction on cost price.

Since these provisions took effect, donations from brands to La Cravate Solidaire have grown substantially. In the first half of 2026 alone, the network collected around 40,000 items of clothing and footwear from about 40 brands, including e-commerce and luxury labels, compared with roughly 3,500 in the whole of 2020. To manage these growing flows, La Cravate Solidaire has set up a dedicated team in recent years, which now comprises three staff members. The quality of donated products has also improved, with a lower share of defective items than in the past. At the same time, interest is also growing beyond France, as the network has recently been approached by brands from Spain and Italy.

Scaling up donation: structural constraints and the role of intermediaries

Social economy organisations can absorb only a fraction of the unsold volumes generated by the sector. At the same time, the experience in France has shown that a favourable regulatory framework, combined with tax incentives for in-kind donations, can support the development of this model.

This model is also becoming more organised as specialised intermediaries play an increasing role in connecting donor brands and receiving organisations. By supporting collection, sorting and redistribution, these intermediaries make donation flows more manageable and strengthen links between companies and social economy organisations. One established example is Agence du Don en Nature, which in 2025 worked with 350 donor companies and more than 1,500 partner organisations, redistributing seven million products.

Conclusion

La Cravate Solidaire illustrates how a challenge for companies – managing unsold stock – can be turned into a source of social value when products are redirected through appropriate donation channels. Rather than being treated solely as a disposal issue, surplus clothing can be matched with social needs and put into use for longer. The expansion of this activity at La Cravate Solidaire shows that there is scope for similar donation channels to grow.

^{1. Source: Volumes and destruction of returned and unsold textiles in Europe’s circular economy, ETC CE Report 2024/4.}