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Spain's Top Fashion Retailers to Launch Trial to Collect Clothes Waste in 2025

A street performer dressed as a bear stands outside a Primark store in Madrid, Spain, October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Susana Vera
A street performer dressed as a bear stands outside a Primark store in Madrid, Spain, October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Susana Vera
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Spain's Top Fashion Retailers to Launch Trial to Collect Clothes Waste in 2025

A street performer dressed as a bear stands outside a Primark store in Madrid, Spain, October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Susana Vera
A street performer dressed as a bear stands outside a Primark store in Madrid, Spain, October 2, 2024. REUTERS/Susana Vera

Spain's largest fashion companies will start collecting discarded clothes from April next year as part of a voluntary pilot scheme to manage textile waste that anticipates EU regulations expected to come into force in 2026.
Zara owner Inditex, H&M, Decathlon, Ikea and Primark are among 10 brands that will participate in a trial that will separate textiles and shoes from other waste collection so they can be reused or recycled, according to organizers of the project, dubbed Re-viste.
Spain is awaiting final approval of new EU regulations that will require member states to separate textiles from other waste before it issues rules to fashion companies, which will meet the cost of managing the textile waste, Marta Gomez, director of quality and environmental evaluation at the ministry of energy transition, told fashion leaders at an event in Madrid.
The EU regulations won't come into force before 2026 as authorities will give companies at least a year to adapt, government officials and fashion industry sources said.
"The regulations show us the way, but we have decided not to wait to comply with the legal requirements," said Andres Fernandez, president of Re-viste and head of sustainability at retailer Mango, which is also part of the trial.
The rules will mean that companies that sell more clothes and shoes are likely to have to pay more for managing the waste, Reuters reported.
In Spain, just 12% of used clothes are collected separately and 88% end up in landfill, according to official data. Each resident in Spain discards 20 kilos of clothes per year compared to an average of seven kilos in Europe, authorities say.
During the year-long trial, Re-viste plans to set up dozens of containers in churches, stores, shopping centers and streets to collect the waste in bags and take it to plants for sorting.
Once the legislation comes into force, fashion companies estimate that Spain will need one textile waste container for every 1,200 residents.

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Fashion

Primark Boss Marchant Resigns after 'Error of Judgment'

A Primark store is seen on Oxford Street, in London, Britain, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo
A Primark store is seen on Oxford Street, in London, Britain, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo
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Primark Boss Marchant Resigns after 'Error of Judgment'

A Primark store is seen on Oxford Street, in London, Britain, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo
A Primark store is seen on Oxford Street, in London, Britain, January 16, 2023. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo

The head of fast fashion chain Primark, Paul Marchant, has resigned with immediate effect after he admitted an "error of judgment" towards a woman in a social environment.
Parent-company Associated British Foods said in a statement on Monday that Marchant had accepted his actions fell below the standards expected, and the head of the 14 billion pound conglomerate said he was "immensely disappointed".
Primark has over 450 stores in 17 countries across Europe and the United States, with Marchant growing operating profit from about 250 million pounds to over a billion pounds during his more than 15 years in charge, Reuters reported.
Primark, founded in Ireland and has a huge presence on British high streets, contributes about half of group profit to AB Foods, which also owns major grocery, sugar, agriculture and ingredients businesses.
Shares in the parent company were trading down 3.5% on Monday morning.
"I am immensely disappointed. At ABF, we believe that high standards of integrity are essential," said CEO George Weston.
"Acting responsibly is the only way to build and manage a business over the long term. Colleagues and others must be treated with respect and dignity. Our culture has to be, and is, bigger than any one individual."
The group said that Marchant had cooperated with an investigation led by external lawyers, and acknowledged his "error of judgment".
It said he had apologized to the individual concerned, the group's board and also to his Primark colleagues and others connected to the business.
Eoin Tonge, AB Foods' finance director, will act as Primark chief executive on an interim basis working with the senior Primark management team and Primark's Strategic Advisory Board, while Joana Edwards, AB Foods' financial controller, will act as interim finance director.
"It is, indeed, a very disappointing, to say the least, end for Mr. Marchant and all at Primark and ABF, where he has overseen the development of a fine value-based retailer with strong prospects for growth," said analysts at Shore Capital.
AB Foods said the group would continue to offer support to the individual who brought this behavior to its attention.