11 March 2026
EU Regulation 2024/1781, which prohibits the destruction of unsold products, will come into force on July 19th, 2026. For Slow Fiber, the regulation confirms a responsible production model that has been practiced for years.
EU Regulation 2024/1781 introduces a ban on the destruction of unsold products in the fashion sector, a measure intended to make companies responsible for managing their own inventories and promote more sustainable and circular practices. Article 23 requires economic operators to adopt "the necessary measures that can reasonably be expected to avoid the need to destroy unsold consumer products." Article 24, however, requires the company to publish, at least on one accessible page of its website: the number and weight of unsold products, the reasons for their unsellability, and the percentage allocated to reuse, reconditioning and remanufacturing, recycling, disposal, and incineration for energy recovery.
The ban will go into effect for large companies starting July 19th , 2026, while micro and small businesses are excluded. Medium-sized enterprises will have to implement it starting in 2030, as the phenomenon primarily affects global business models, not typical of SMEs.
For Dario Casalini, president of Slow Fiber, the EU regulation represents a recognition of the historic values of Italian textile production: "The regulation introduces a principle of common sense that has always been part of a certain model of the textile industry, which would never have wasted its semi-finished or finished products. Circularity was the rule: waste or leftovers became resources for other industries or supply chains. The hope is to hold companies accountable for managing their leftovers, encouraging maximum value through recycling and reuse, and discouraging their disposal as waste. The ban is essentially useful and a step in the right direction, although it would have been desirable to reduce the exceptions that could undermine it."
Casalini highlights how massive waste is primarily linked to fast and ultra-fast fashion models, which produce far more than necessary, generating volumes of unsold goods that are difficult to manage without resorting to disposal. Even in the luxury sector, for reasons related to counterfeiting and brand control, some companies have in the past destroyed semi-finished or finished products with distinctive logos, generating scandals.
The president of Slow Fiber emphasizes that "the exceptions provided for by the regulation risk being interpreted too broadly, potentially circumventing the ban."
According to Article 25, unsold products may be destroyed:
- for health, hygiene, and safety reasons;
- when the products are damaged and cannot be repaired cost-effectively;
- when they have not been accepted as donations;
- when destruction represents the option with the least negative environmental impact.
"Companies accustomed to basing their production models on the exploitation of resources and people cannot rule out fraudulent practices, such as the intentional destruction of unsold goods or the creation of false documents to justify disposal. National governments and judiciaries must monitor these potential evasions."
Counterfeiting, which can be facilitated by the uncontrolled circulation of branded garments, is a different matter. According to Slow Fiber, in this case, the most effective solution is not to ban destruction, but to develop technologies for recycling and reusing materials bearing distinctive brands and logos.
"In conclusion, the ban is essentially useful and a step in the right direction, although it would have been desirable to reduce the exceptions that could potentially undermine it. All that remains is the sad feeling of enthusiastically embracing a rule so obvious and common sense that it made the generations before us, who had far fewer opportunities for waste, smile" concludes Casalini.
