EEA: Processing, destructing returned or unsold textiles responsible for up to 5,6 m tons of CO2

27 / 03 / 2024

By Marwa Nassar - -

Processing and destructing returned or unsold textiles can be estimated to be responsible for up to 5,6 million tons of CO₂-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing ‘The destruction of returned and unsold textiles in Europe’s circular economy’.

Although data are scattered, best available evidence suggests that around 4-9% of all textile products put on the European market are destroyed without ever being used for their intended purpose.

Recent studies indicate that about 20% of clothing and 30% of footwear, bought online in the EU, are returned by customers. About 70% of these returns are caused by poor fit or style. However, the EEA briefing notes that only about 3% of the environmentally harmful emissions from textiles come from distribution and retail, which means that even a long and complicated return process is most likely beneficial for the environment, if it leads to the product being resold and used.

The EEA briefing states that both regulation and targeted policies, as well as soft information measures, are needed to reduce customer returns and unsold goods. At the same time, addressing the systemic problem of overproduction and destruction in the textiles industry is needed and could be tackled with both circular business models and policies. A positive step has been recently taken with the EU agreement to ban the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear (with certain exemptions for small, micro and medium sized companies), as part of the Ecodesign ´Sustainable Products Regulation´.