---
title: "ESPR destruction of unsold goods: disclosure, ban scope, and records"
canonical_url: "https://www.sorena.io/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/destruction-of-unsold-goods"
source_url: "https://www.sorena.io/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/destruction-of-unsold-goods"
author: "Sorena AI"
description: "Source-linked ESPR guide to unsold consumer product disclosure, destruction-ban scope, records, derogations, and national enforcement limits."
published_at: "2026-05-09"
updated_at: "2026-05-09"
keywords:
  - "ESPR destruction of unsold goods"
  - "unsold consumer products"
  - "ESPR Article 24"
  - "ESPR Article 25"
  - "Annex VII textiles footwear"
  - "discarded unsold products disclosure"
  - "ESPR"
  - "EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation"
  - "destruction of unsold goods"
  - "textiles"
  - "footwear"
  - "disclosure"
---
**[SORENA](https://www.sorena.io/)** - AI-Powered GRC Platform

[Home](https://www.sorena.io/) | [Solutions](https://www.sorena.io/solutions) | [Artifacts](https://www.sorena.io/artifacts) | [About Us](https://www.sorena.io/about-us) | [Contact](https://www.sorena.io/contact) | [Portal](https://app.sorena.io)

---

# ESPR destruction of unsold goods: disclosure, ban scope, and records

Source-linked ESPR guide to unsold consumer product disclosure, destruction-ban scope, records, derogations, and national enforcement limits.

*ESPR* *Unsold goods* *EU*

## ESPR Destruction of unsold goods

Map the ESPR duties for unsold consumer products: prevent avoidable destruction, publish discarded-product data, keep proof, and check whether the Annex VII ban applies.

The page stays within grounded ESPR text and Commission materials, so it does not invent product-group dates, penalties, or derogations.

ESPR treats destruction of unsold goods as a specific unsold consumer product issue, not as a generic waste-policy checklist. The regulation defines destruction, unsold consumer products, and consumer products; requires economic operators to prevent avoidable destruction; creates annual public disclosure duties for discarded unsold consumer products; and separately prohibits destruction of Annex VII product categories from the stated application dates. Timings in this page are source-linked; verify current legal source language before implementation decisions.

## What counts as destruction of unsold consumer products?

Start with the ESPR definitions. A consumer product excludes components and intermediate products and is primarily intended for consumers. An unsold consumer product includes surplus stock, excess inventory, deadstock, and consumer returns made under withdrawal rights or a longer trader withdrawal period.

Destruction is not limited to landfill or physical shredding. ESPR defines it as intentionally damaging or discarding a product as waste, but excludes discarding solely to deliver the product for preparing for reuse, including refurbishment or remanufacturing.

- Classify the item as a consumer product before using the unsold-goods duties.
- Separate surplus stock, excess inventory, deadstock, and consumer returns in the evidence trail.
- Do not treat preparation for reuse, refurbishment, or remanufacturing as destruction when the product is discarded solely for that purpose.
- Keep the waste-hierarchy route visible because Article 24 distinguishes preparing for reuse, recycling, other recovery, energy recovery, and disposal.

Sources for this answer:

- [Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR)](https://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1781/oj?ref=sorena.io) - Article 2 defines destruction, consumer product, unsold consumer product, economic operator, and related terms used by the unsold-goods chapter.

## Which operators have to disclose discarded unsold goods?

Article 24 applies to economic operators that discard unsold consumer products directly or have them discarded on their behalf. The public disclosure must cover the number and weight discarded per year, product type or category, reasons for discarding, any relevant Article 25 derogation, the proportion sent to each waste-hierarchy activity, and measures taken or planned to prevent destruction.

The disclosure must be clear, visible, annual, and available at least on an easily accessible website page. The first disclosure covers unsold consumer products discarded during the first full financial year in which ESPR is in force. Micro and small enterprises are excluded from this Article 24 paragraph, and medium-sized enterprises are brought in from 19 July 2030.

- Website evidence should show the reporting year, product type or category, number, weight, reasons, waste-treatment route, and prevention measures.
- Sustainability-reporting evidence can be linked where the operator includes the information in management-report sustainability reporting.
- Supplier or waste-contractor records should map back to the public totals when products are discarded on the operator's behalf.
- SME status must be checked before assuming the Article 24 disclosure duty applies.

Sources for this answer:

- [Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR)](https://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1781/oj?ref=sorena.io) - Article 24 states the disclosure fields, public website requirement, annual cadence, management-report option, and micro, small, and medium enterprise caveats.
- [European Commission ESPR overview](https://commission.europa.eu/energy-climate-change-environment/standards-tools-and-labels/products-labelling-rules-and-requirements/ecodesign-sustainable-products-regulation_en?ref=sorena.io) - The Commission overview summarizes that large and eventually medium-sized companies must disclose annual information on discarded unsold consumer products on their websites.

## How does the destruction ban work?

The ban is narrower than the general disclosure duty. Article 25 prohibits destruction only for unsold consumer products listed in Annex VII, starting from 19 July 2026. Annex VII currently lists apparel and clothing accessories and footwear through commodity-code entries.

The ban does not apply to micro and small enterprises. It applies to medium-sized enterprises from 19 July 2030. Operators outside the prohibition still cannot destroy unsold consumer products supplied to them for the purpose of circumventing the ban.

- Check Annex VII commodity codes before saying a product is banned from destruction.
- Do not extend the current ban to other product groups unless Annex VII is amended by delegated act.
- Flag medium-sized enterprise timing separately from large-enterprise controls.
- Review transfer arrangements for anti-circumvention risk when an exempt or out-of-scope operator receives unsold goods from a covered operator.

Sources for this answer:

- [Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR)](https://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1781/oj?ref=sorena.io) - Article 25 sets the prohibition date, SME caveats, anti-circumvention rule, and delegated-act mechanism for amending Annex VII.
- [European Commission news on ESPR adoption](https://commission.europa.eu/news-and-media/news/new-law-make-products-eu-market-more-sustainable-2024-07-19_en?ref=sorena.io) - The Commission adoption news confirms the policy focus on banning destruction of unsold textiles and footwear and allowing future sector extensions where evidence supports them.

## What records should be retained for regulators?

Article 24 creates a records-response duty tied to the public disclosure. When the Commission or a competent national authority asks, the operator must provide the information and documentation needed to demonstrate delivery and reception of discarded products and, where relevant, the applicability of an Article 25 derogation.

The response window in the ESPR text is 30 days from receiving the request, unless the information is already available to the competent national authority under another legal act. That makes the practical evidence pack a reconciliation file: public totals, product-category mapping, dispatch records, receiver confirmations, treatment-route proof, and derogation evidence.

- Retain product-category mapping that reconciles to the published number and weight totals.
- Keep delivery and reception proof for each disclosed treatment route.
- Keep Article 25 derogation analysis only where a derogation is actually claimed.
- Preserve the version of the public web disclosure or sustainability report used for the reporting year.

Sources for this answer:

- [Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR)](https://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1781/oj?ref=sorena.io) - Article 24(2) requires operators to provide documentation proving delivery, reception, and derogation applicability within the stated response period.

*Recommended next step*

*Placement: after evidence section*

## Build an ESPR unsold-goods evidence file

Use this ESPR page to connect product classification, website disclosure, treatment-route proof, derogation evidence, and SME status before public reporting or destruction decisions are approved.

- [Open Research Copilot](/solutions/research-copilot.md): Answer ESPR implementation questions with cited source material.
- [Discuss ESPR implementation](/contact.md): Review scope, source evidence, and next implementation steps with Sorena.

## What can delegated acts and national rules change?

The Commission can amend Annex VII by delegated act to add products or update entries, but Article 25 requires an assessment of prevalence and environmental impacts, use of Article 24 disclosure information, and an impact assessment based on best available evidence and analysis. A delegated act adding products must specify its application date and may include tiered or transitional measures.

The Commission must also adopt delegated acts setting derogations from the prohibition where appropriate for listed reasons such as health, hygiene, safety, irreparable damage, unfitness, donation refusal, unsuitability for reuse or remanufacturing, intellectual-property infringement, or where destruction has the least negative environmental impact. Penalties are left to Member States, but Article 74 requires them to be effective, proportionate, and dissuasive and at least capable of including fines and time-limited exclusion from public procurement.

- Do not publish product-group destruction dates until the relevant Annex VII delegated act states an application date.
- Do not create company-specific derogations beyond the Article 25 grounds and any adopted delegated-act detail.
- Do not state EU-wide penalty amounts from ESPR alone; Member States set penalty rules.
- Monitor the implementing act on disclosure details and format because Article 24 leaves the detailed format to Commission implementing acts.

Sources for this answer:

- [Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR)](https://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1781/oj?ref=sorena.io) - Articles 24, 25, and 74 define the implementing-act format role, delegated-act mechanisms, derogation grounds, and national penalty framework.
- [European Commission ESPR overview](https://commission.europa.eu/energy-climate-change-environment/standards-tools-and-labels/products-labelling-rules-and-requirements/ecodesign-sustainable-products-regulation_en?ref=sorena.io) - The Commission overview states that delegated and implementing acts on destruction of unsold consumer products were adopted and links to the relevant publications.

## Primary sources

- [Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR)](https://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1781/oj?ref=sorena.io) - Binding ESPR source for definitions, prevention, disclosure, records, Annex VII destruction-ban scope, delegated-act mechanics, consolidated Commission reporting, and Member State penalty framework.
  - Quote: "Economic operators shall take necessary measures which can reasonably be expected"
- [European Commission ESPR overview](https://commission.europa.eu/energy-climate-change-environment/standards-tools-and-labels/products-labelling-rules-and-requirements/ecodesign-sustainable-products-regulation_en?ref=sorena.io) - Commission overview supporting the public-facing summary that ESPR addresses destruction of unsold consumer products, requires website disclosures, and links the later delegated and implementing acts.
  - Quote: "Rules to address destruction of unsold consumer products"
- [European Commission news on ESPR adoption](https://commission.europa.eu/news-and-media/news/new-law-make-products-eu-market-more-sustainable-2024-07-19_en?ref=sorena.io) - Commission adoption news supporting the high-level explanation that the initial ban focuses on unsold textiles and footwear and may be extended where evidence shows need.
  - Quote: "opens a way to extend similar bans on other sectors"

## Related Topic Guides

- [ESPR and DPP connection: delegated acts, identifiers, and access](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/espr-and-dpp-connection.md): How ESPR connects ecodesign information requirements to Digital Product Passports, including delegated acts, data carriers, identifiers, access rights, registry, and architecture choices.
- [ESPR Applicability Test for Products and DPP Readiness](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/applicability-test.md): A source-linked ESPR applicability test for physical product scope, exclusions, delegated-act dependency, economic operator triage, DPP readiness, unsold goods, and evidence.
- [ESPR compliance checklist for delegated acts and DPP readiness](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/checklist.md): A source-linked ESPR checklist for monitoring delegated acts, mapping product requirements, preparing technical documentation, and building DPP and unsold-goods evidence.
- [ESPR compliance program operating model](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/compliance-program-operating-model.md): Build an ESPR operating model for product-group intake, delegated-act monitoring, supplier evidence, DPP governance, release gates, and authority response.
- [ESPR compliance: delegated acts, DPP and evidence](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/compliance.md): Practical ESPR compliance guidance for mapping product delegated acts, Digital Product Passport dependencies, unsold goods duties, technical documentation, standards, and market-surveillance evidence.
- [ESPR deadlines and compliance calendar](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/deadlines-and-compliance-calendar.md): Source-linked ESPR calendar for framework dates, delegated-act dependency, working-plan monitoring, unsold-goods disclosure, and DPP readiness limits.
- [ESPR delegated act intake by product group](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/delegated-act-intake-by-product-group.md): A grounded intake checklist for tracking ESPR delegated acts by product group, covering product identification, DPP data, ecodesign requirements, conformity evidence, and source limits.
- [ESPR delegated act intake workflow](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/delegated-act-intake-workflow.md): A source-grounded intake workflow for ESPR delegated acts: trigger checks, product-group scope, requirement extraction, DPP impacts, release gates, owners, and evidence outputs.
- [ESPR delegated acts FAQ: product rules, DPP impact, and monitoring](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/faq/delegated-acts.md): Standalone FAQ on ESPR delegated acts, why product-group duties depend on them, what teams should monitor, and how they shape Digital Product Passport information.
- [ESPR delegated acts watchlist for product and DPP teams](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/espr-delegated-acts-watchlist.md): Track ESPR delegated-act priorities without inventing dates: product groups, source status, likely requirement types, DPP impact, evidence owners, and open source gaps.
- [ESPR destruction ban and unsold goods FAQ](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/faq/destruction-ban.md): What ESPR says about preventing destruction of unsold consumer products, annual disclosure, the Annex VII apparel and footwear ban, and grounded derogation evidence.
- [ESPR DPP information mapping workflow](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/dpp-information-mapping-workflow.md): Map ESPR delegated-act information requirements into DPP data elements, source systems, access levels, identifiers, carriers, validation evidence, and unresolved design decisions.
- [ESPR durability, repairability, and recyclability evidence](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/durability-repairability-and-recyclability-evidence.md): Build ESPR evidence for durability, repairability, and recyclability without inventing product-group tests before the applicable delegated act is known.
- [ESPR Ecodesign Evidence Checklist](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/ecodesign-evidence-checklist.md): Checklist for collecting ESPR ecodesign evidence from delegated acts, technical documentation, supplier substantiation, DPP mapping, standards, and market surveillance records.
- [ESPR ecodesign requirement types: performance, information, and DPP links](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/ecodesign-requirement-types.md): Source-grounded guide to ESPR ecodesign requirement types, product parameters, delegated-act dependency, DPP links, and evidence implications.
- [ESPR FAQ: scope, delegated acts, DPP, unsold goods](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/faq.md): Standalone ESPR FAQ answers on product scope, delegated acts, Digital Product Passports, unsold goods, product priorities, standards, surveillance, and source limits.
- [ESPR harmonised standards and common specifications](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/standards-and-common-specifications.md): How ESPR uses harmonised standards, common specifications, delegated acts, and DPP standards evidence without inventing product-specific requirements.
- [ESPR Information Requirements to DPP Mapping](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/information-requirements-to-dpp-mapping.md): Map ESPR information requirements into Digital Product Passport data classes, source systems, access rules, carrier choices, validation checks, and evidence records.
- [ESPR Information Requirements, Labels, and Disclosure](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/information-requirements-labeling-and-disclosure.md): Grounded ESPR guide to delegated-act information requirements, product labels, digital product passport access, data carriers, and unsold-goods disclosure.
- [ESPR market surveillance FAQ: evidence, DPP data, and authority requests](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/faq/market-surveillance.md): Standalone FAQ on ESPR market surveillance: technical documentation, conformity evidence, DPP data, authority response, delegated-act limits, and national penalties.
- [ESPR market surveillance technical documentation checklist](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/market-surveillance-technical-documentation.md): Source-grounded ESPR checklist for technical documentation, conformity evidence, DPP records, and responses to market surveillance authority requests.
- [ESPR penalties and fines: Member State rules and evidence](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/penalties-and-fines.md): A conservative ESPR penalties guide explaining Article 74, why fine amounts depend on Member State law, and which conformity and market-surveillance evidence matters.
- [ESPR Product Priorities and Delegated Acts Tracker](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/product-priorities-and-delegated-acts-tracker.md): Track ESPR priority product groups, source status, delegated-act progress, expected DPP impact, owners, evidence, and source gaps without treating preliminary studies as binding obligations.
- [ESPR product priorities FAQ: working plan and delegated acts](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/faq/product-priorities.md): Standalone FAQ on ESPR product priorities, the Commission working plan, delegated-act dependency, monitoring points, and limits of preliminary source material.
- [ESPR requirements: delegated acts, ecodesign, DPP, and evidence](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/requirements.md): ESPR requirements explained as a framework for delegated acts, ecodesign performance and information rules, Digital Product Passports, unsold goods, technical documentation, and market surveillance.
- [ESPR unsold goods disclosure FAQ](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/faq/unsold-goods-disclosure.md): Standalone FAQ on the ESPR Article 24 duty to disclose discarded unsold consumer products, its relationship to the destruction ban, records, and source limits.
- [ESPR unsold goods disclosure tracker](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/unsold-goods-disclosure-tracker.md): Track ESPR unsold consumer product disclosure fields, website publication evidence, destruction-ban status, owners, and unresolved source gaps.
- [ESPR vs Batteries Regulation Comparison](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/espr-vs-batteries-regulation.md): Compare ESPR delegated-act planning with the Batteries Regulation product-specific regime, including DPP overlap, battery passport evidence, timing limits, and source boundaries.
- [ESPR vs Ecodesign Directive](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/espr-vs-ecodesign-directive.md): Compare ESPR with the earlier Ecodesign Directive across scope, legal form, delegated acts, DPP requirements, unsold goods, transition rules, and evidence.
- [ESPR vs GPSR: Sustainability vs Product Safety](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/espr-vs-gpsr.md): A source-limited comparison of ESPR sustainability and product-information requirements against GPSR product-safety context, with evidence and DPP reuse limits.
- [ESPR vs PPWR Comparison](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/espr-vs-ppwr.md): Compare ESPR product ecodesign and Digital Product Passport work with the separate PPWR packaging regime, using only source-linked ESPR and packaging-boundary claims.
- [ESPR vs REACH and RoHS Comparison](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/espr-vs-reach-and-rohs.md): Compare ESPR ecodesign, sustainability, information, and digital product passport requirements with source-limited REACH and RoHS substance-control context.
- [EU ESPR DPP obligations FAQ](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/faq/dpp-obligations.md): Standalone FAQ on Digital Product Passport obligations under ESPR, covering delegated acts, identifiers, carriers, access rights, data governance, and supplier evidence limits.
- [Timeline for ESPR: practical implementation guide](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/timeline.md): Practical ESPR guidance for Timeline, with source-linked decisions, owners, evidence records, and implementation steps.
- [What ESPR is and why it matters](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/what-is-espr-and-why-it-matters.md): A grounded explainer of the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, including scope, delegated acts, DPPs, unsold goods, and enforcement limits.
- [Which products are in scope of the EU ESPR?](/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/faq/products-in-scope.md): Standalone FAQ on ESPR product scope, excluded products, delegated-act dependency, working-plan monitoring, and the digital product passport link.


---

[Privacy Policy](https://www.sorena.io/privacy) | [Terms of Use](https://www.sorena.io/terms-of-use) | [DMCA](https://www.sorena.io/dmca) | [About Us](https://www.sorena.io/about-us)

(c) 2026 Sorena AB (559573-7338). All rights reserved.

Source: https://www.sorena.io/artifacts/eu/ecodesign-for-sustainable-products-regulation/destruction-of-unsold-goods