The ESPR Destruction Ban and Unsold Products Disclosure

Since 19 July 2026, large enterprises may not destroy unsold apparel, accessories, or footwear unless a narrow derogation in Regulation (EU) 2026/296 applies. Medium-sized enterprises are covered from 19 July 2030, and micro and small enterprises are excluded.

Prepare now

If you are a large enterprise, check how unsold apparel, accessories, and footwear leave your business, and keep the records any derogation requires.

Locked Applies to large enterprises from 19 July 2026

Who it covers

Large enterprises (250 or more employees, or both over €50 million annual net turnover and over €43 million balance sheet, per Recommendation 2003/361/EC) placing unsold apparel, accessories, and footwear, the current scope, on the EU market. Art. 25(1) permanently excludes micro and small enterprises; medium-sized enterprises are caught from 19 July 2030.

In detail

ESPR Article 25 prohibits destroying unsold consumer goods and applies now without a delegated act, currently to apparel, accessories, and footwear. In February 2026 the Commission adopted Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/296 (Art. 25(5) derogations) and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2 (Art. 24(3) format for disclosing discarded unsold products). Large enterprises must comply from 19 July 2026 and medium-sized enterprises from 19 July 2030, while micro and small enterprises are excluded. Early-2026 commentary still uses the Commission working numbers C(2026) 659 (derogations) and C(2026) 660 (disclosure), but the Official Journal numbers are the citable ones.

What to do

  • Do not destroy unsold apparel, accessories, or footwear unless a narrow derogation applies
  • Destroy only on one of the ten grounds in Reg. (EU) 2026/296, Art. 2: dangerous products; non-compliant products where destruction is required or proportionate; IP infringements and expired IP licenses; protected or inappropriate branding not removable for reuse; damaged or defective products not reasonably repairable; and, only where none of those apply, products unaccepted after at least eight weeks offered for donation, or that a social economy entity or reuse operator could not place
  • Keep documentation on each destroyed product for five years, supply it within 30 days of an authority request (Art. 3), and give the waste treatment operator a statement of the derogation applied (Art. 4)
  • Publish yearly, on an easily accessible website page, the number and weight of unsold consumer products discarded by type or category; the reasons and any derogation used; the shares sent to preparing for reuse, recycling, other recovery, and disposal; and prevention measures (ESPR Art. 24(1), format per Implementing Reg. (EU) 2026/2), covering all discarded unsold consumer products, not only apparel and footwear.
  • Practical step, not a legal duty: set up donation and redistribution routes now, since the donation ground needs an eight-week offer first

Key dates

9 February 2026
Locked
Reg. (EU) 2026/296 (derogations) and Reg. (EU) 2026/2 (disclosure format) adopted
19 July 2026
Locked
Ban applies to large enterprises for unsold apparel, accessories, and footwear
19 July 2030
Locked
Ban extends to medium-sized enterprises; micro and small remain permanently excluded

How it connects

  • Framework-level ESPR law (Art. 25), not a delegated act, and already in force
  • The ESPR textiles DPP delegated act is a separate, later obligation that does not gate Art. 25 compliance
  • The Empowering Consumers Directive (EU) 2024/825 (green claims) complements Art. 25, preventing misleading green claims on goods sold while the ban covers unsold stock
  • Under Commission Decision (EU) 2026/1435, French rules on unsold products (French Environmental Code, Article L.541-15-8) still apply to medium-sized enterprises for ESPR Annex VII apparel, accessories, and footwear until 19 July 2030, and to consumer products outside Annex VII until EU rules at least as strict apply, so sellers in France should check both.

Sources

This page is the Article 25 Destruction Ban deep dive from the ESPR Atlas hub, where it sits with the other regulation deep dives.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ESPR Article 25 destruction ban?
Since 19 July 2026, large enterprises may not destroy unsold apparel, accessories, or footwear unless a narrow derogation in Regulation (EU) 2026/296 applies. Medium-sized enterprises are covered from 19 July 2030, and micro and small enterprises are excluded.
When may unsold products still be destroyed?
Destroy only on one of the ten grounds in Reg. (EU) 2026/296, Art. 2: dangerous products; non-compliant products where destruction is required or proportionate; IP infringements and expired IP licenses; protected or inappropriate branding not removable for reuse; damaged or defective products not reasonably repairable; and, only where none of those apply, products unaccepted after at least eight weeks offered for donation, or that a social economy entity or reuse operator could not place.
What must companies disclose about unsold products?
Publish yearly, on an easily accessible website page, the number and weight of unsold consumer products discarded by type or category; the reasons and any derogation used; the shares sent to preparing for reuse, recycling, other recovery, and disposal; and prevention measures (ESPR Art. 24(1), format per Implementing Reg. (EU) 2026/2), covering all discarded unsold consumer products, not only apparel and footwear.
Does France have its own rules on destroying unsold products?
Under Commission Decision (EU) 2026/1435, French rules on unsold products (French Environmental Code, Article L.541-15-8) still apply to medium-sized enterprises for ESPR Annex VII apparel, accessories, and footwear until 19 July 2030, and to consumer products outside Annex VII until EU rules at least as strict apply, so sellers in France should check both.