For most of modern retail, the default was built-in replacement: clothes were expected to fail, and you were expected to buy again. That model is now meeting its first real resistance from lawmakers. A wave of "right to repair" rules in Europe is quietly rewriting how garments are designed, labelled, and kept alive—and the changes reach all the way to your closet, even if you shop from the US.
France wrote the first rulebook
France has led on this for years. Under its AGEC anti-waste law, a repairability index scored from 0 to 10 has been required on textiles since January 1, 2024, rating how easy a product is to disassemble, whether spare parts exist, and how accessible repair documentation is. France also introduced a "Repair Bonus" in 2023 that reimburses consumers a portion of repair costs directly, and it criminalised planned obsolescence in laws first passed in 2015 and strengthened in 2026. The effect is measurable: in the first quarter of 2025, secondhand marketplace Vinted became the single largest seller of clothing in France by volume, ahead of Amazon and Kiabi, with resale accounting for 11.8 percent of all clothing sales and 17.5 percent among Gen Z, according to the Institut Français de la Mode.
Sweden took a different lever, cutting VAT on clothing and textile repair services to make mending cheaper than replacing. The pattern across the EU is consistent: make repair easy, affordable, and expected, and consumption shifts from newness to longevity.
The EU Right to Repair Directive
The umbrella law is the EU Right to Repair Directive, adopted in June 2024, which establishes the consumer's right to have products repaired by independent repairers and requires manufacturers to supply spare parts and technical information for a defined period after sale. Member states must transpose it into national law by July 2026. Although the directive's first scope covers large appliances and electronics, its stated aim is to push repair and reuse across clothing and textiles too, and it sits alongside the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). Under ESPR, the destruction of unsold apparel and footwear by medium and large companies is banned starting in 2026, forcing brands to manage inventory circularly instead of burning or landfilling excess.
The practical design rules are already clear. Garments will need replaceable buttons and zippers, reinforced seams, and no glued or heat-bonded elements that defeat both repair and recycling. Labels will eventually state expected lifespan, repairability, and spare-part availability, and repair instructions must be reachable via QR code or website. For brands, that means designing as if the product will come back—because, legally, its materials and repair path now must.
The Digital Product Passport arrives in 2027
The enforcement backbone is the Digital Product Passport (DPP), mandated for textiles in 2027 under EU Regulation 2024/1781, with a central registry opening in July 2026 and a textiles delegated act following in 2027. Think of the DPP as a permanent record for a garment: its material composition, origin, repair history, and circularity data, scannable at the point of sale. For shoppers, it ends the guessing game about what a piece is made of and whether it can be fixed. For brands, it makes design flaws and obstructed repairs visible to regulators. The DPP is the engine that turns right-to-repair from a slogan into an auditable standard.
What brands are doing ahead of the law
The smart ones are not waiting. Levi's launched its Wear Longer Project in February 2026 to teach Gen Z—research found a third are interested—how to fix their own clothes. Veja opened L'École de la Réparation in Roubaix in November 2025, a ten-month paid program training students in design, cobblery, and textile repair. Patagonia's Worn Wear and Nudie Jeans' free repair clinics remain the benchmarks. The throughline: repair, done well, is a loyalty program, not a cost center. Deloitte's 2024 data backs this up—56 percent of consumers repaired something instead of replacing it in the past year.
What it means for your closet
Even outside the EU, these rules shape what you can buy, because global brands design to their strictest market. Expect clearer labels, more repairable construction, and easier access to spare parts and guides. As a shopper, you can act now: choose pieces built to be opened and mended, keep proof of composition, and support brands that publish repair instructions. Our outerwear and new arrivals state fabric content and construction details up front, so the garment you buy today is one you can keep alive for years.
Frequently asked questions
What is the EU Right to Repair Directive?
Adopted in June 2024, it gives consumers the right to repair products through independent repairers and requires manufacturers to supply spare parts and technical information for a set period. Member states must implement it by July 2026, with textiles pulled in under the broader ecodesign framework.
What is France's repairability index?
A 0-to-10 score required on textiles since January 1, 2024, rating ease of disassembly, spare-part availability, and access to repair documentation. France also offers a Repair Bonus that reimburses part of consumer repair costs, and criminalised planned obsolescence.
When does the Digital Product Passport start?
The DPP becomes mandatory for textiles in 2027 under EU Regulation 2024/1781, with a central registry opening in July 2026 and a textiles delegated act following. It will record a garment's materials, origin, and repair history in a scannable format.
Does right-to-repair affect US shoppers?
Indirectly, yes. Global brands design to their strictest market, so clearer labels, repairable construction, and published repair guides tend to reach worldwide catalogs. The legal push is European, but the product changes are global.
Sources
COSH! — How Fashion Brands Can Prepare for the EU Right to Repair Directive
Kate Ancketill — Repair and restore: the pushback against throwaway culture
Textile Passports — AGEC Law in France and the repairability index
Editor's noteThis analysis was researched and drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by the PHEFEE editorial desk. Figures are drawn from the sources listed above; we did not invent any statistic.
