{"id":5679,"date":"2025-06-23T15:00:34","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T13:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.lineapelle-fair.it\/?p=5679"},"modified":"2025-06-26T16:48:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T14:48:43","slug":"france-it-is-a-boomerang-the-law-prohibiting-the-destruction-of-the-unsold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.lineapelle-fair.it\/en\/green-corner-en\/france-it-is-a-boomerang-the-law-prohibiting-the-destruction-of-the-unsold\/","title":{"rendered":"France: it is a boomerang the law prohibiting the destruction of the unsold"},"content":{"rendered":"

In France, the Anti-Waste law surprisingly transformed itself into an encouragement towards overproduction. A literal boomerang. It is hard to believe, but the mechanism with whom fast fashion takes advantage of the AGEC law (Anti-Gaspillage pour une \u00c9conomie Circulaire) in order to transform it in a source of income has been unveiled by an investigation carried out by Disclose, in partnership with Reporterre, based on confidential documents<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

di Massimiliano Viti<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Anti-Waste law, which was enacted on February 10th 2020<\/strong> and took effect in 2022<\/strong>, essentially prohibits the destruction of the unsold<\/strong>. The aim was to fight overproduction in terms of fashion products; and it clearly wasn\u2019t to encourage it through multilevel government contribution<\/strong>. This law establishes that whoever recycles, sells to stockists or donates to associations his unsold products has the right to earn a tax credit<\/strong> that sums up to 60% on the value of donated goods. Or, amounting to the production cost whether these products are recorded in the unsold stocks of the warehouses.<\/p>\n

Or, even amounting to the value of the good on the date of the donation if, instead, they are part of fixed assets. In other words, the companies are themselves responsible for determining the value of their products<\/strong>. For instance: for a pair of trousers from Shein with the estimated value of 12 euros, the Chinese brand receives a tax deduction that adds up to 7,20 euros if it decides to donate it to a recycling center. The investigation carried out by Disclose is focused on three brands: Shein<\/strong>, Decathlon <\/strong>and Kiabi<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The brokers of the unsold<\/strong><\/h3>\n

On the market are sold entire trucks shipping unsold Shein items<\/strong>. These brokers <\/strong>of unsold goods – a professional figure born extemporaneously – are able to connect major brands with charities or reuse centers. In a mail consulted by Disclose, a broker tries to place 21 square meters<\/strong> of Shein products worth about 53.000 euros<\/strong>, from which to get 31.900 euros<\/strong> in tax savings for the \u201cdonor\u201d.<\/p>\n

This law is a boomerang<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Based on a spreadsheet possessed by Disclose, Decathlon<\/strong>, during 2024, has benefited from 709.000 euros<\/strong> in tax credits thanks to 1,18 million euros of unsold products that were donated through Comerso, a broker-company. Between 2021 and 2024, still based on this internal paper, tax credit has almost tripled<\/strong>. \u201cIn 2023, these donations add up to 0,01% of all the revenue of Decathlon France\u201d as stated by the brand to Disclose. The donations have been carried out by the start-up Done based in Lille, which draws a commission of 12% on the value of recovered stocks.<\/p>\n

Kiabi \u201csolution\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Kiabi showed that it is capable of taking advantage of the law in all its characteristics. Everyday, the brand offers for sale more than 800.000 pieces<\/strong> of clothing. Based on calculations carried out by Disclose, Kiabi has generated almost 5,6 millions of unsold products<\/strong> during 2023. A volume that has almost doubled in two years and that is able to fill 100 shops circa of the brand.<\/p>\n

Facing this great amount, the group found a solution with the help of Les Petits Magasins<\/strong>, \u201csolidarity shops\u201d whose property can be precisely traced back to the same French company. Kiabi donates to Kiabi<\/strong>, generating tax reliefs. During 2021 Kiabi sent to Petits Magasins 430.000 pieces<\/strong> of clothing, with an estimated worth about 1,9 million euros<\/strong>. Disclose states that if, during 2023, the volume of unsold products was the same as registered in 2021, it could have generated a tax credit of about 15 million euros. But this doesn\u2019t end here.<\/p>\n

Producing not to sell?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Kiabi takes advantage even in another way from public generosity in order to make its overproduction even more profitable<\/strong>. For instance, tax reliefs and contributions aimed at opening Petits Magasins stores. Or a decrease in terms of costs because the duty of the disposal of unsold goods transfers from Kiabi to another subject, private or public. This happens because at least one in five pieces of clothing<\/strong> donated to Petits Magasins remains on the shelves and, so, is produced not to sell it.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrue secondhand\u201d goes KO<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This peculiar system, as underlined by the investigation, represents fearsome competition <\/strong>for the market of \u201ctrue secondhand\u201d, which consists of pieces actually used or worn by someone else. Especially because one thing is managing a new unsold item, ready to be sold; another one is having to sustain the costs needed in order to select<\/strong>, sort <\/strong>and – perhaps – repair <\/strong>a \u201ctrue\u201d secondhand item. \u201cBy introducing unsold goods in this sector, secondhand items essentially lose their competitiveness\u201d, as confirmed by Emmanuelle Ledoux<\/strong> from the Institut National de l\u2019\u00c9conomie Circulaire.<\/p>\n

A paradoxical boomerang<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Due to this mechanism, charities and recycle centres are submerged with donations<\/strong>, to the point in which they don\u2019t know where to keep them or what to do with them. Some have blocked donations, while others were forced to spend \u201c8000 euros in order to bury 10 tons of clothes in the dump<\/strong>\u201d as declared by Lisa Coinus, ex responsible for the textile sector in a recycle centre located in Arles.<\/p>\n

In some cases local authorities were forced to directly intervene with the aim of destroying the unsold, generating as a consequence the umpteenth paradoxical effect of this law. Public money used to destroy private goods that were overproduced: definitely not a success. The French Government is attempting to remedy all of this. In the text of the so-called \u201canti-fast fashion law\u201d there actually is a clause aimed at deleting the possibility to receive tax reliefs from donations of unsold goods to charities. Will it be enough?<\/p>\n

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