This week, Seamless CEO Ainsley Simpson joined ABC News Breakfast to discuss the European Union's ban on destroying unsold clothing and why Australia needs mandatory clothing stewardship to create a level playing field for all producers.
From 19 July 2026, the European Union (EU) has banned large retailers from destroying unsold clothing, footwear and accessories. Instead, they must prioritise selling, donating or preparing these products for reuse.
The new rules reflect a growing global shift towards more circular and resource-efficient business models, with medium-sized companies set to follow from 2030.
Australia already has the capability, capacity and willingness to recover more clothing and textiles. What we need now is the regulatory certainty that gives every clothing producer a commercial reason to design out waste.
As other markets strengthen their regulations, Australia risks becoming a destination for ultra-cheap clothing that other countries are increasingly unwilling to accept.
The evidence is clear from the program Seamless delivered with grant funding from the Australian Government:
- Australians want convenient ways to reuse and recycle clothing.
- Our supply chain has the capability and capacity to recover more clothing textiles.
- Australian recyclers can transform unwearable clothing into valuable new products, including insulation and filling for furniture.
- Voluntary action alone will not deliver the scale or certainty needed to transform the industry.
- Large international, low-cost players are placing strain on the entire ecosystem and decisive action and a level playing field is needed.
Mandatory clothing product stewardship would require every clothing producer to contribute four cents for every new garment placed on the Australian market. That shared investment would help build the infrastructure needed to keep clothing and valuable textiles in circulation, while encouraging better product design, greater reuse and resale, and improved collection, sorting and recycling.
Without regulation, councils, charities, households and the environment will continue to bear the cost. With it, industry has the certainty to invest, and the incentive to transition to a circular clothing economy.
Clothing is not disposable. It is a valuable resource, and Australians deserve a system that treats it that way.
Watch Ainsley Simpson's full ABC News Breakfast interview above.
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