The ESPR Readiness Checklist for Fashion Brands: What to Have in Place Now
The ESPR destruction ban on unsold apparel has applied to large companies since 19 July 2026. A write-off route that was the operational default for unsold and unsellable stock is now unlawful for in-scope brands unless a documented exemption applies. This checklist sets out what an in-scope brand should now have in place, and what a medium-sized brand should build before the ban reaches it on 19 July 2030.
Is my brand in scope for the ESPR destruction ban?
Scope is set by company size. Large companies have been in scope for the destruction ban on unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear since 19 July 2026. Medium-sized companies follow on 19 July 2030. Micro and small enterprises are exempt under the regulation. Company size is defined by EU thresholds, not by sector. For a brand under the large-company thresholds, the runway to 2030 is a positioning window rather than a reprieve: see how mid-market fashion brands position for ESPR ahead of larger peers.
The relevant instrument is the ESPR, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, Article 25. Size thresholds come from Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, which Article 2 of the ESPR adopts. A company with 250 or more employees, or with turnover above €50m and a balance sheet total above €43m, counting the figures of linked enterprises in its group, is treated as large for the purpose of the ban.
| Company size / item | In scope from | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Large companies | 19 July 2026 | Defined under Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC (e.g. 250+ employees, or €50m+ turnover with a €43m+ balance sheet). Ban plus derogations apply. |
| Medium-sized companies | 19 July 2030 | Disclosure obligation also phased. |
| Micro and small enterprises | Exempt | Excluded from the destruction ban under the ESPR. |
| Apparel, clothing accessories, footwear | Covered | Product categories the ban applies to. |
What should fashion brands have in place now the ban applies?
Confirm scope, then close the gap between today’s disposal route and what the regulation will permit after the deadline. For most in-scope brands the gap has two halves. One is records: a clear measure of how much unsold and unsellable stock currently goes to write-off, plus a documented process for the limited cases where destruction stays lawful. The other is a recovery route, so destruction becomes the exception rather than the default disposition. The six-step checklist below works through both.
How can fashion brands prepare for ESPR?
Move from a returns process built to issue refunds to one built to inspect and recover at unit level. A refund-led process records that a garment came back and closes the transaction, but it rarely captures the garment’s condition or where it should go next. That data gap is what forces the write-off-or-jobber default.
The fastest preparatory step is to put a recovery pathway in place, so the default disposition of a returned or unsold garment is assessment rather than disposal. A process designed to capture what each garment needs and where it ends up gives both the compliance and finance teams the same record the operations team works from. It also produces the audit trail the regulation will require, rather than a second reporting exercise bolted on later. For the operational detail of that build, see Returns Recovery: The Operational Setup in Five Steps.
What happens after the ESPR destruction ban takes effect?
The ban has applied to large companies since 19 July 2026, and medium-sized companies follow on 19 July 2030. Since that date, destroying in-scope unsold goods has been permitted only in specific justified cases. Two further obligations sit alongside the ban: annual disclosure of what is discarded, and a standardised reporting format that follows later.
| Obligation | Source | Starts |
|---|---|---|
| Destruction ban (large companies) | Reg (EU) 2024/1781, Art. 25 | 19 July 2026 |
| Annual disclosure of discarded unsold products | Reg (EU) 2024/1781, Art. 24 | First full financial year after 18 July 2024 (FY 2025 for calendar-year reporters) |
| Standardised disclosure format | Implementing Reg (EU) 2026/2 | 2 March 2027 |
The disclosure obligation and the disclosure format are separate. The obligation to publish numbers on discarded unsold products sits in the ESPR itself. The standardised reporting format is set by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2 and applies from 2 March 2027. A brand that builds its recovery data correctly produces most of the Article 24 figures as a byproduct. For how that disclosure works in practice, see ESPR Article 24 Disclosure.
Records that justify any destruction must be retained for five years. National authorities enforce the ban, and Member States set the penalties, so the consequence of getting it wrong is decided market by market rather than at EU level.
When is destruction of unsold goods still allowed under ESPR?
Destruction stays lawful only in specific justified cases set by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/296, adopted as C(2026) 659 on 9 February 2026. Examples include a safety risk or product damage that makes a garment unsellable and unrecoverable. Commercial inconvenience is not one of the cases. A brand cannot destroy stock simply because recovery is more effort than disposal. The Delegated Regulation sets out ten derogations in total. The full list, and the record each one requires, is set out on the ESPR Article 24/25 audit trail page.
Where a case does apply, the obligations are specific. The brand must document and justify the decision, retain the records for five years, and notify the waste operator handling the goods.
What does an ESPR-ready returns process look like in practice?
In practice it is a returns process that treats every returned or unsold garment as a unit to be assessed before it is dispositioned. Returned garments are cleaned and conditioned at unit level, with what each garment needs and where it ends up captured per unit. Recoverable stock is routed back to resale before any derogation is claimed, so destruction is the exception that a record has to justify, not the path of least resistance.
That recovery route is where Opera operates. The workflow is built to clean and condition a returned garment first, with repair handled as a subset where it is needed, and to record the inspection, treatment and disposition of each unit as it moves. It runs through a single point of access to a network of professional garment care experts across European markets, which keeps the recovery record consistent regardless of where a garment is processed. For how the category fits the wider returns chain, see Garment Returns Recovery: What It Is.
The ESPR readiness checklist
- Confirm scope. Check your company size against Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, counting your whole group. Large companies have been in scope since 19 July 2026; medium-sized companies follow on 19 July 2030.
- Quantify in-scope volume. Measure how much in-scope stock currently goes to write-off or to inventory jobbers. The no-recovery baseline is a write-off, or a sale at a small fraction of what the garment is worth. That figure is the size of the exposure the ban creates.
- Decide what disposition data you capture, and at what level. Article 24 asks for an aggregate figure by product type or category, so an item-level record is an operational choice rather than a requirement. Brands that keep one find the aggregate easier to produce and to defend.
- Set up a documented derogation process. For the limited cases where destruction stays lawful, build the record now: document and justify the decision, retain records for five years, and notify the waste operator.
- Prepare Article 24 disclosure. Set up the annual data on unsold products discarded, with the number, weight and reasons. The standardised format applies from 2 March 2027.
- Put a recovery route in place. Stand up a pathway that cleans and conditions returned garments first, with repair as a subset, so recoverable stock goes back to resale before any derogation is claimed.
A recovery route is the step that turns the other five from a reporting burden into an operational position. It is built to produce the disposition record the ban requires and to keep recoverable stock in the resale channel. The box test is the way to see the data on your own returned stock before committing to anything wider.
Frequently asked questions
When does the ESPR destruction ban start?
The ESPR destruction ban on unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear has applied to large companies since 19 July 2026 under Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, Article 25. Medium-sized companies follow on 19 July 2030. Micro and small enterprises are exempt from the destruction ban.
Is my brand in scope for the ESPR destruction ban?
Scope depends on company size as defined by Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, with linked companies in a group counted together. Large companies, broadly those with 250 or more employees or above both €50m turnover and a €43m balance sheet, have been in scope since 19 July 2026. Medium-sized companies follow on 19 July 2030. Micro and small enterprises are exempt.
When is destruction of unsold goods still allowed under ESPR?
Destruction stays lawful only in specific justified cases set by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/296, such as a safety risk or product damage. The brand must document and justify the decision, retain the records for five years, and notify the waste operator. Commercial inconvenience does not qualify.
What disclosure must brands publish under ESPR?
Under the Article 24 obligation in the ESPR, in-scope companies publish annual information on unsold products discarded, covering the number, weight and reasons. The standardised disclosure format is set by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2 and applies from 2 March 2027. The obligation and the format have different start points.
How much unsold textile does Europe destroy each year?
The European Environment Agency estimates that 4 to 9% of all textile products put on the market in Europe are destroyed before use. In EEA Briefing 01/2024, that is put at 264,000 to 594,000 tonnes a year. The figure is a primary reason the destruction ban exists.
References
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation), Article 24 and Article 25.
- Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, company size thresholds, adopted by Article 2 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781.
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/296, adopted as C(2026) 659, 9 February 2026, derogations from the destruction ban.
- Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2, standardised format for Article 24 disclosure (applies from 2 March 2027).
- European Environment Agency, EEA Briefing 01/2024, on the destruction of textile products on the European market.
( About the author )
Joanna Lambert
CEO & Co-Founder, Opera Garment Solutions
Joanna Lambert is CEO and co-founder of Opera Garment Solutions, which recovers returned, damaged and unsold clothing for fashion brands across the EU and the UK from hubs in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Spain. She writes on the EU destruction ban and on what returned stock is worth when it goes back to sale.