Shein, Nestlé & Temu: European Parliament’s Waste Rules

Around 60 million tonnes of food is wasted in Europe annually, alongside each individual producing 12 kg of clothes and footwear waste every year according to the European Parliament. 

Following this research the European Parliament has announced that it is adopting rules to reduce textiles and food waste.

These rules coincide with a wider global goal of reducing the effects of climate change and reaching net zero by 2050, in accordance with the Paris Agreement. 

What do the new rules aim to achieve?

The update to the legislation will introduce mandatory food waste reduction targets that need to be met at national level by the end of 2030.

These targets include a reduction by 10% in food processing and manufacturing and 30% per capita from retail, restaurants, food services and households.

David Gudgeon, Head of External Affairs at Reconomy Connect, a waste and resource management firm says: “Almost 60 million tonnes of food are wasted every year in the EU – the equivalent of 132kg per person – so the introduction of binding reduction targets marks an important milestone.” 

“It is encouraging that this baseline captures a broad, post-COVID data range, ensuring the targets reflect normal trading conditions.

“Meeting these ambitious targets will be demanding, but they signal a decisive shift away from a throwaway culture and the needless loss of resource-intensive food production. 

“Reducing waste across the entire food value chain offers significant climate benefits, conserving land, water, energy, and carbon otherwise lost through inefficiency.”

The parliament also outlined that companies will need to cover the cost of collecting, sorting and recycling waste textiles. 

Alongside covering the costs parliament states that ulra-fast fashion practices must be addressed.

How will the new rules be implemented?

EU countries will now need to take measures to make sure that economic operators play a role in the prevention and generation of food waste and facilitate the donation of unsold food that is safe for human consumption. 

In the textile industry producers that sell in the EU must cover the cost of collection, sorting and recycling through producer responsibility schemes.

The new schemes are obligated to be set up by each member state within 30 months of the directives.

Products like clothing and accessories including hats, footwear, blankets, bed and kitchen linen and curtains will all be covered by the revised rules.

Any producers involved in selling textile products in the EU, even if not based there, will need to comply with the rules, micro enterprises will be given an extra year to comply with the requirements. 

Liesbet Sommen, Member of the European Parliament stated: “It is good that we are now firmly anchoring the principle of ‘the polluter pays’ for textiles.

“Moreover, it is a strong signal that non-European producers, who sell their clothes here, will not be able to escape this. 

“This way, we also hit the fast fashion industry where it hurts and steer the market towards quality and reuse.”

What companies will be impacted by the rules?

Several companies that deal within the EU have already started making headway in moving towards more sustainable operations, however the new rules intend to accelerate the transition.

Companies that might could be impacted by the implementation include: 

Shein - Shein is known as a key player in the fast fashion industry, with the European Commission releasing a report in May 2025 outlining that the company will be investigated for providing deceptive information surrounding the sustainability benefits of its products. 

The high production levels at Shein could mean that the brand might be heavily impacted by higher fees it will now face in Europe.

Shein has released that it is working towards a circular design system, increasing the number of products made from recycled or deadstock materials. 

The company has a goal of 31% of its polyester products to be made from recycled polyester by 2030 and it says it promotes the resale of preloved items through the Shein exchange site.

Nestlé - Nestlé highlights that one third of food produced around the world is either lost or wasted.

In order to reduce the impact of food waste from the multi national company it has been working to implement various technology and initiatives.

In France the company has collaborated with Too Good To Go to help prevent food from being needlessly discarded, this initiative coincided directly with the EU’s ambitions with the new rules.  

Temu -  Similarly to Shein, Temu is known for hosting a range of products for cheap prices.

This could mean that Temu could be facing high costs when it comes to the EU rules.

However, Temu is working towards making better sustainability efforts for example the company shares that it has partnered with Trees for the Future, funding the planting of 21,662,260 trees. 

Danone - Danone says that it is working to reduce the amount of waste the company produces as it is aware of the one billion tonnes of food thrown away every year. 

It is already partaking in initiatives that the new EU legislation is hoping to promote such as partnering with the Global Foodbank Network where the company redistributes its surplus products. 

Alongside the partnership Danone has also made an effort to relabel items where safe to do so changing use by to best before, extending the life of products and encouraging consumers to check the food is still good to consume before discarding.