The Unifying Thesis
EU regulation is forcing circularity simultaneously across five consumer-facing sectors. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) bans the destruction of unsold apparel and footwear from 19 July 2026 for large enterprises (Freshfields). The Right to Repair Directive (2024/1799) entered into force on 30 July 2024, with member-state transposition by 31 July 2026 (EUR-Lex). The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) reshapes food and packaging through 2025-2030. Companies that have built circular business models are positioned to capture the demand this regulation creates.
$3.5B
Back Market 2025 GMV (+32% YoY); EBITDA break-even globally; 35% EBITDA margin in France
DKK 725M
Too Good To Go ApS 2024 revenue (DK entity); ~€97M, +33% YoY
18,000+
Buildings registered on Madaster (NL-born material passport platform) in 2024
01
Furniture & Office Fit-Out
Circular furniture for B2B and consumer markets — rental, buy-back, refurbished, ex-display.
Global · Pilot
IKEA Preowned
SE / Global Online resale marketplace
LaunchedAug 2024
Pilot marketsMadrid · Oslo
Buyback Friday 2024~55,000 items
Goal100% circular by 2030
Netherlands · B2B
Vepa — The Furniture Factory
NL Office & project furniture · Fair Furniture Group
Founded1951
Production sites NL5
Circular CentreEmmen
ModelRecycled materials, take-back
Sources: Vepa corporate site · Vepa UK LinkedIn
Counter-example
Fonq — Bankrupt March 2026
NL Pure-play online furniture · 23 yrs to bankruptcy
Founded2003 · Utrecht
2023 net loss>€14M
Bankrupt27 Mar 2026
Affected250+ employees
B2C pure-play furniture failed under the same return economics that B2B circular rental avoids. Source: DutchNews · full analysis on TrendsOnFire
Netherlands Furniture Circularity — The Competitive Landscape
Two parallel ecosystems are emerging in the Dutch market: integrators that rent and rotate furniture across short-stay, expat and hospitality use (KeyPro / Hooft & Petiet under ReShare Living Group, Live Light, In-Lease, RE-PLACE), and manufacturers that have built joint refurbishment infrastructure (Ahrend, Gispen, Presikhaaf at the Circulaire Hub in Veghel; Vepa).
NL · Rental Integrator
ReShare Living Group
NL Holding group combining two Dutch circular-furniture operators
StructureReShare Living Group = the parent
Operating company 1KeyPro (NL's first furniture rental co., 15+ yrs)
KeyPro locationsGroningen · Amsterdam
Operating company 2Hooft & Petiet
AcquisitionReShare bought Hooft & Petiet, Oct 2025
Use casesExpat · short-stay · transitions · hospitality
Who bought / who sold: the shareholders of Hooft & Petiet sold the company to ReShare Living Group (KeyPro's parent platform) in October 2025. Sources: TranslinkCF press release (Oct 2025) · KeyPro corporate site
BE / NL / LU · Hospitality
Live Light
BE Pay-per-month furniture leasing · circular by design
MarketsBelgium · Netherlands · Luxembourg
VerticalsHotels · B&Bs · coliving · holiday homes
ModelRent or rent-to-own; full refurbishment loop
Source: Live Light — Hospitality leasing
NL · Manufacturer Hub
Ahrend + Gispen + Presikhaaf — Circulaire Hub
NL Joint circular refurbishment facility · Veghel, North Brabant
Facility size20,000 m²
Expert staff28
Furniture refurbished 202466,740 pieces
CO₂ reduction (claimed)Up to 90% vs new
RecognitionGolden Circle Award · North Brabant
NL · Smaller Players
In-Lease · Lyght Living · RE-PLACE
NL Specialised rental and office-furniture circular models
In-LeaseFurniture rental NL
Lyght LivingEco-friendly homes & offices
RE-PLACEOffice furniture rental
AdjacentExpat Furniture Holland · Furniture4Rent
02
Fashion & Apparel
The headline ESPR category — ban on destroying unsold apparel effective 19 July 2026 for large enterprises.
Lithuania · Listed-equiv
Vinted Group FY2024
LT Pre-owned fashion marketplace · Founded Vilnius 2008
Revenue 2024€813.4M (+36%)
Net profit 2024€76.7M (+330%)
Adj. EBITDA€158.9M
Valuation Oct 2024€5B
Headcount2,200+
USA / Europe
Patagonia Worn Wear
US Buy-back, repair & resale · pioneer of circular fashion
Worn Wear FY25 revenue$13M
Patagonia FY25 total$1.47B
Items kept from landfill583,000+
Recent growth rate+40% YoY
Source: Patagonia 2025 Impact Report · SGB Media
EU Regulation
ESPR — Unsold Goods Destruction Ban
EU 27 Apparel, clothing accessories & footwear
Effective (large)19 Jul 2026
Effective (medium)19 Jul 2030
Micro / smallExempt
Estimated CO₂ saved~5.6Mt/yr (textile destruction)
Vinted Group revenue (€M)
FY2023 → FY2024 · +36% YoY
Vinted Group net profit (€M)
FY2023 → FY2024 · +330% YoY
Fashion & Apparel Brands — Circular Readiness
How nine major fashion groups are positioned against the EU's circular mandates. All figures below come from each company's own published sustainability or annual report. Where a company does not disclose a given metric, the card says so rather than estimating.
Key compliance date — 19 July 2026: under the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), large companies selling textiles, apparel and footwear in the EU will no longer be allowed to destroy unsold stock. Destruction is only permitted for safety or severe damage, must be documented, and public disclosure of how unsold goods are handled becomes mandatory. Medium-sized companies fall under the ban from 2030. Source: European Commission — New EU rules to stop destruction of unsold clothes and shoes.
Sweden · Listed
H&M Group FY2025
SE Fast fashion · Sellpy pre-owned platform
Sustainably sourced / recycled materials91% in commercial products (vs 89% FY24, 83% FY23)
Recycled materials alone32% of commercial products (target 30% met)
Resale share of group turnover0.8% (vs 0.6% FY24, 0.3% FY22)
Resale revenue FY25SEK 1,844m (+27% YoY)
Resell markets26 · Sellpy + H&M + brands
Spain · Listed
Inditex / Zara Pre-Owned
ES Repair · resale · donation programme
Lower-impact textile fibres 202473% of all textile fibres used (target: 100% by 2030)
Recycled textile fibres 202439%
Pre-Owned launchNov 2022 (UK)
Markets covered16 EU countries + US
Garments reused or donated67% via the programme
Manufacturing emissions−14% over 2 years
Germany · Listed
Adidas
DE Sportswear · Choose to Give Back resale (US)
Recycled polyester share 202499% of polyester used (where technically feasible)
Waste diversion rate 202489% (offices & DCs)
Take-back partnerthredUP (US, since Oct 2021)
Programme scopeAny brand, any condition
Japan · Listed
Uniqlo / Fast Retailing FY2024
JP RE.UNIQLO programme (since 2020)
Low-GHG materials 202418.2% of total
Recycled polyester47.4% of all polyester used
Garments collected~9.5M items (FY ending Aug 2025)
Target50% recycled/sustainable by 2030
US · Listed
Nike FY2024
US Sportswear · Nike Refurbished & Nike Grind
Recycled polyester 202463% (vs 56% FY23, 23% FY20)
Environmentally Preferred Materials48% (target 50% by FY25)
Sustainable cotton share66% (certified + organic + recycled)
Waste diverted from landfill98% (finished-goods suppliers)
Nike Refurbished launchUS 2021 · EU (8 countries) Oct 2023
US / Europe
Patagonia Worn Wear
US Buy-back, repair & resale pioneer
Worn Wear revenue FY25$13M
Share of Patagonia FY25 total~1% (of $1.47B)
Items kept from landfill583,000+
Recent growth rate+40% YoY
Sources: Patagonia 2025 Impact Report · SGB Media
Ireland / UK · Value
Primark
IE Value fast fashion · Circular Product Standard
Units sold "circular by design" FY24/255% overall
Jersey circular share20%
Denim circular share8%
Programme"Love It for Longer" repair workshops (UK, EU, US)
Germany · Listed
Zalando FY2024
DE Fashion marketplace · Pre-owned channel
Revenue 2024€10.6B (+4.2%)
GMV 2024€15.3B (+4.5%)
Adj. EBIT 2024€511.1M (+46%)
Active customers50M+
Pre-owned GMV disclosureNot separately broken out
UK · Listed
ASOS
UK Fashion e-commerce · Vintage & Thrift+ pilot
ASOS Marketplace rebrandRenamed "Vintage on ASOS" (2024)
Independent vintage boutiques800+
Resale partnerThrift+ (trial)
Circular design collections2nd drop launched 2024
Deep dive
Inside H&M Group's circular transition (FY2025)
H&M Group's financial year runs from 1 December to 30 November. The FY2025 Annual & Sustainability Report (published 26 March 2026) puts two figures on the same page that together sketch where the company is on the circular journey: 91% of commercial materials are now recycled or sustainably sourced, and 0.8% of group turnover came from resale in FY2025. Both numbers moved the same direction this year — and the work between them is what closes the gap.
Net sales FY2025
SEK 228B
+2% in local currencies
Operating profit
SEK 18.4B
8.1% op. margin
Scope 3 emissions
−34.6%
vs 2019 baseline
Resale turnover FY25
SEK 1.84B
+27% YoY
Materials mix FY2025 (commercial products)
| Recycled or sustainably sourced | 91% (89% FY24 · 83% FY23) |
| Recycled materials alone | 32% (30% target met) |
| Recycled or sustainable packaging | 86% (84% FY24) |
| Recycled packaging materials | 51% |
| 2030 target — sustainable materials | 100% |
Resale business FY2025
| Resale share of group turnover | 0.8% (0.6% FY24 · 0.3% FY22) |
| Resale total turnover | SEK 1,844m (+27% YoY) |
| Resell markets | 26 markets via Sellpy & family brands |
| Resell through | Sellpy, H&M, ARKET, COS, Weekday, Monki |
| EU Taxonomy alignment (circular) | 0.8% of turnover eligible |
Ventures pipeline — the bridge between the 91% and the 0.8%.
Syre (with Vargas Holding) is building industrial plants that recycle polyester garment-to-garment at scale, not bottle-to-fabric.
Galy is a biotech H&M has invested in that grows cotton from cells in bioreactors rather than fields.
Looper Textile Co. is H&M's joint venture for collecting, sorting and grading used garments at industrial scale.
Together with Sellpy, these are the pipes that would convert the materials progress into real circular volume.
Digital Product Passport timeline: textiles are the #1 priority product group under the EU ESPR Working Plan 2025–2030 (adopted 16 April 2025). The textile delegated act is expected late 2026 to Q2 2027, with an 18-month compliance window. Mandatory Digital Product Passports for textiles are projected for around mid-2028. Source: SGS ESPR Working Plan analysis · Inriver — DPP fashion guide.
03
Electronics & Refurbished Devices
Right to Repair, refurbished marketplaces, and the European unicorns leading both.
France · Unicorn
Back Market
FR Refurbished electronics marketplace · US, Europe, Asia
2025 GMV$3.5B (+32%)
EBITDA 2025Break-even globally
France EBITDA margin35%
Black Friday 2025+41% YoY
2022 valuation$5.7B (Series E)
Austria · Scale-up
Refurbed
AT Refurbished electronics marketplace · Vienna HQ
Founded2017 · Vienna
MarketsDACH + expanding EU
Sustainability claimUp to ~70% lower CO₂ vs new
Source: Refurbed corporate — About us
EU Regulation
EU Right to Repair Directive 2024/1799
EU 27 Common rules promoting the repair of goods
Entered into force30 Jul 2024
Transposition deadline31 Jul 2026
EU Repair PlatformOperational 2027
ScopeConsumer goods, EU-wide
Back Market GMV: $2.65B (2024) → $3.5B (2025)
Gross Merchandise Value year-over-year (+32% YoY). 2024 figure derived from the +32% growth disclosed in 2025 results. Source: Back Market press release (Feb 2026).
04
Building Materials & Construction
The Netherlands leads Europe on circular construction — Madaster is the platform layer.
Netherlands · Scale-up
Madaster — Material Passport Platform
NL Born in Netherlands · 6 country footprint
Active countriesNL · CH · DE · BE · NO · AT
New buildings registered 202418,000+
German Sustainability Award2nd year in a row
2024 NL partnershipsVitens · PWN · Prysmian · Volker
EU Regulation
EU Construction Products Regulation
EU 27 Updated CPR · Digital Product Passports for construction
Revised CPR2024 update
Digital Product PassportPhased rollout
Linked to ESPR frameworkYes
EU Platform
EU Circular Economy Action Plan
EU 27 Strategy framework underpinning ESPR + CPR + Right to Repair
AdoptedMarch 2020
Part ofEuropean Green Deal
Stakeholder platformActive
05
Food & Packaging
Surplus marketplaces, sharing platforms, and the EU Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation.
Denmark · Profitable
Too Good To Go
DK Surplus food marketplace · founded Copenhagen 2015
2024 revenue (DK entity)DKK 725M (+33%)
2024 net profit (DK)DKK 9.6M
Registered users120M+
Active business partners180,000
Countries21 (EU + N. America)
Meals saved since 2016500M+
UK · Sharing
Olio
UK Hyper-local food sharing app · founded London 2015
ModelP2P + food business surplus
Reach62 countries
Volunteer Food Waste Heroes100,000+
Source: Olio company about page
EU Regulation
Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR)
EU 27 Replaces 1994 directive · binding regulation
Adopted2024
Reusable targets2030 / 2035 / 2040
Bans on certain SUPsFrom 2030
All packaging recyclable2030 target
Too Good To Go — verified KPIs
All four numbers below refer to Too Good To Go — the Danish surplus-food marketplace.
TGTG · 2024 revenue (DK entity)
DKK 725M
+33% YoY (DKK 545M in 2023)
TGTG · Registered users
120M+
Across 22 countries (17 European + 5 non-European)
TGTG · Active business partners
180,000
Restaurants, cafés, retailers
TGTG · Meals saved since 2016
500M+
Cumulative impact
⏱
EU Circular Regulation Timeline 2024 → 2028
The dates that force every category to change at once.
30 July 2024
EU Right to Repair Directive 2024/1799 enters into force
Common rules promoting the repair of consumer goods. Source: EUR-Lex.
2024
PPWR adopted; ESPR final acts in pipeline
Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation adopted; ESPR Commission acts move toward final adoption. Source: Linklaters.
9 February 2026
EU Commission approves first ESPR implementing regulations
Regulation (EU) 2026/2 published 10 Feb 2026. Source: Compliance & Risks.
19 July 2026
ESPR ban on destroying unsold apparel & footwear — effective for large enterprises
Apparel, clothing accessories and footwear cannot be destroyed by large enterprises. Medium enterprises follow 19 Jul 2030; micro/small are exempt. Source: Freshfields.
31 July 2026
Right to Repair transposition deadline — member states must apply national rules
All EU citizens gain the right to repair consumer goods. Source: EUR-Lex Directive 2024/1799.
2027
EU Repair Platform operational; ESPR extends to furniture & textiles
Public repair-services platform goes live; ESPR Working Plan 2025-2030 (adopted April 2025) prioritises textiles and furniture for delegated acts within the plan period, with most analyst timelines placing adoption in the second half of the decade. Source: European Commission — ESPR Working Plan 2025-2030.
Mid-2028 (expected)
Digital Product Passport for textiles becomes mandatory
Once the textiles delegated act is adopted (expected Q2 2027), an ~18-month compliance window puts mandatory DPP for apparel and footwear around mid-2028 to early 2029. Every garment sold in the EU will carry a machine-readable passport covering composition, origin, repairability and end-of-life. Sources: Circularise — DPP by EU legislation · Carbonfact — DPP for fashion · EC ESPR Working Plan 2025-2030.
About the Author
TrendsOnFire is a AI based market intelligence platform publishing analysis on retail, technology, supply chain, finance, compliance, education, people and transformation trends across Europe.
Created by Olga Bressers, a senior executive with experience in sales & digital operations, ecommerce, omni-channel retail, supply chain, programs management and business transformation.