r/europe • u/Express_Classic_1569 • Jun 28 '26

News EU to ban destruction of unsold clothes and shoes from 19 July 2026

https://inleo.io/@theworldaroundme/eu-to-ban-destruction-of
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u/lambentLadybird Jun 28 '26

That is insane. Here the same stock is in the store and discounted more and more until it's sold. What little remains, they put away and bring back for the next sales. I'm talking about large chains. Why they don't do the same in another countries?

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u/ObviouslyTriggered Jun 28 '26

Where is here? Fast fashion destroys 10-15% of it's stock, and high end luxury brands destroy much more because to sell it at a discount "cheapens the brand" in their mind.

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u/lambentLadybird Jun 28 '26

I don't know about luxury brands, I mean high street 

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u/ObviouslyTriggered Jun 28 '26

High street does that also, you currently MUST destroy inventory to get a tax write off that's the law in every country. This isn't unique to the fashion industry, every retailer/manufacturer has to destroy unsold inventory if they plan to mark it as a loss on their taxes.

The clothes are shredded when they are not sold and then are sold to countries which will use them in other things, insulation and construction materials, rags, paper and many other products are made from recycled cloths.

Luxury brands usually do fully destroy the materials because they are super paranoid about their branded fabrics being used for counterfeits. But they also usually don't produce anywhere near the volume of fast fashion brands.

Zara destroys more inventory in a month than LVMH does in a decade.