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EU bans the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing, accessories and footwear

environment.ec.europa.eu

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Re: EU bans the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing, accessories and footwear

#281

Post by Swenrekcah »

cperciva wrote: post #266
teraflop wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If companies are taking raw materials worth more than zero, and turning them into clothing worth less than zero, then I think deterring them from doing that is beneficial to society overall.

If they knew in advance that the clothing wouldn't sell, they would never have made it! But companies stockpile goods in anticipation of potential demand. For example, they'll "overproduce" winter coats because some winters are colder than average. This sort of anti-overproduction law means that the next time there's an unexpected need -- for example an unusually cold winter -- there will be a shortage because there…

It seems to me that is exactly what could be enabled by this law. It is forbidding the destruction of last year’s winter coats.

Re: EU bans the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing, accessories and footwear

#282

Post by [deleted] »

ragall wrote: post #259
awongh wrote: post #206

Compared to the USA, is a contributing factor because things can't be put on discount sale in the EU? In american many things are always on a discount, and there are so many channels through which this discounted merchandise is funneled. Which has to be a major way retails manage excess stock. A lot of people don't realize that european retailers are legally disallowed from selling at a discount. Edit to clarify: thi…

> Compared to the USA, is a contributing factor because things can't be put on discount sale in the EU? Nonsense. They can. > In american many things are always on a discount, and there are so many channels through which this discounted merchandise is funneled. Which has to be a major way retails manage excess stock. Major fashion brands refuse to do any discount at all to avoid damaging the brand. No second hand, no…

[deleted]

Re: EU bans the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing, accessories and footwear

#283

Post by Nition »

cperciva wrote: post #266
teraflop wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If companies are taking raw materials worth more than zero, and turning them into clothing worth less than zero, then I think deterring them from doing that is beneficial to society overall.

If they knew in advance that the clothing wouldn't sell, they would never have made it! But companies stockpile goods in anticipation of potential demand. For example, they'll "overproduce" winter coats because some winters are colder than average. This sort of anti-overproduction law means that the next time there's an unexpected need -- for example an unusually cold winter -- there will be a shortage because there…

Could they overproduce and keep unsold stock for next winter, and if unsold stock gets too high, stop producing more until it reduces?

Re: EU bans the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing, accessories and footwear

#284

Post by fn-mote »

Uvix wrote: post #245
babybjornborg wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparel firms exist not to clothe people as common sense would suggest but to make a profit, and this practice of erring on the side of overproduction is more profitable than under production. The perfect solution would be to produce exactly the number of goods they will sell, but forecasts aren't perfect so they overproduce. Firms are already incentivised by profit to not waste, so this adds another incentive and re…

How will apparel be cheaper? When they lower production runs, it'll be less available, which will mean prices will go up.

The only error in the whole post. I think it's more productive to ignore that and focus on the important stuff... which is about why this kind of market interference isn't going to work out the way a naive optimist would hope.

Re: EU bans the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing, accessories and footwear

#285

Post by zos_kia »

cm2012 wrote: post #219
motbus3 wrote: post #204

I'm reading the comments and I get confused. I kinda think this is a good idea and it is not like the government is purely making it a 3rd party problem only. This might make production more complicated for a while, but nowadays it is much easier to predict demand and produce quicker in smaller batches. In the 90s you might need change a whole factory setting for every single piece of fabric but nowadays it is that m…

Essentially: unsold clothing is worth less than zero and recycling most clothing creates more emissions than it saves. So the law is forcing headache for nothing.

The worth is zero because the producer doesn't pay for the externalities (pollution, landfill usage etc). So essentially it is "free" because it is subsidized by everyone.

The "headache" is just : produce what you sell, sell what you produce, don't fill the world with your shit.

Re: EU bans the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing, accessories and footwear

#286

Post by ragall »

awongh wrote: post #273
ragall wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Compared to the USA, is a contributing factor because things can't be put on discount sale in the EU? Nonsense. They can. > In american many things are always on a discount, and there are so many channels through which this discounted merchandise is funneled. Which has to be a major way retails manage excess stock. Major fashion brands refuse to do any discount at all to avoid damaging the brand. No second hand, no…

> Nonsense. They can. Specifically I meant that there's a few times during the year when things can be put on discount?

That's correct: typically Christmas, Easter and Summer. That's more than enough to get rid of excess if they were serious about it.

Re: EU bans the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing, accessories and footwear

#287

Post by peterfirefly »

dijit wrote: post #187
tsoukase wrote: post #179

EU fixes textile waste. What about plastic waste that dwarfs any other polution with the forever chemicals? No economy dares to touch this subject seriously.

textile waste, largely, is plastic waste. Nearly all of the clothes you can buy contain a decent amount of plastic (elastane, polyester etc are just nice names for plastic). in fact, I’ve been trying to buy plastic-free clothing for a few years (ever since micro-plastic was linked to diminished testosterone & fertility in men) I am finding it difficult, you often have to buy luxury and even then it’s no guarantee. fa…

So is rayon... kinda. It's cellulose from trees and other plants, without the original cells.

Where is the dividing line between cellulose, lignin and "plastics"?

Re: EU bans the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing, accessories and footwear

#288

Post by Der_Einzige »

JoshTriplett wrote: post #271
behringer wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they ship unused crates to Africa then they get cheap clothes. Win win all around.

Not always a win. There have been a few reports that sending large numbers of clothing donations to areas that don't specifically need them has the result of harming local industry that would otherwise be able to produce and sell clothes.

The appearal industry is among the most exploitive in the world. It's good to kill it before it springs up. Bangladesh is not anyone's example of a model country.

Re: EU bans the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing, accessories and footwear

#289

Post by ragebol »

jadenPete wrote: post #252

I think what bugs me about EU legislation like this is how micro-targeted it is. Why apparel specifically? If waste and a disregard for the finite-ness of natural resources is the problem, why not impose a blanket, Pigovian-style tax on all extracted resources? I got the same feeling when they mandated USB-C on Apple devices. If the problem of waste were tackled categorically, then the state wouldn’t need to get invo…

> micro-targeted > mandated USB-C on Apple devices

There is no law that states specifically Apple must specifically use USB-C. IIUC, the law is that all brands/manufacturers should use the same type of charger, an industry standard. That was apparently USB-C. Apple was the odd one out and had to change. If something better comes along, the industry as a whole can upgrade.

Re: EU bans the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing, accessories and footwear

#290

Post by [deleted] »

Uvix wrote: post #245
babybjornborg wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparel firms exist not to clothe people as common sense would suggest but to make a profit, and this practice of erring on the side of overproduction is more profitable than under production. The perfect solution would be to produce exactly the number of goods they will sell, but forecasts aren't perfect so they overproduce. Firms are already incentivised by profit to not waste, so this adds another incentive and re…

How will apparel be cheaper? When they lower production runs, it'll be less available, which will mean prices will go up.

[deleted]
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