What: El Corte Inglés is embedding ecodesign and circularity across packaging, waste management and customer recycling programmes, aligning its retail operations with responsible consumption and EU sustainability expectations.

Why it is important: This strategy highlights the growing importance of circular economy execution in retail, as environmental regulation, customer expectations and operational efficiency increasingly converge.

El Corte Inglés is advancing its circular economy strategy by applying ecodesign principles across the life cycle of its products and packaging. The group has achieved a key milestone in its food areas, where 100% of packaging is now designed to be recyclable, reusable or compostable. It has also reduced overall plastic use in packaging by 8.9% compared with 2024, while recycled material now accounts for 33.5% of the plastic used. The company is also involving customers directly in circularity through in-store collection programmes, including its partnership with Moda re-, which helped collect more than 630 tonnes of textiles for reuse, recycling and energy recovery over the past year. These initiatives are supported by clean points in stores, certified Zero Waste management systems and participation in Extended Producer Responsibility schemes covering packaging, electronics, lighting, textiles, footwear, furniture and mattresses. Together, these measures show how El Corte Inglés is turning sustainability into a practical retail operating model.

IADS Notes: El Corte Inglés’s progress on ecodesign, packaging and textile collection reinforces its broader shift toward circular retail operations. Press Release (July 2026) reports that the group completed its Zero Waste road map across department stores, food formats, outlets and logistics platforms in Spain and Portugal, recovering more than 100,000 tonnes of waste and embedding circularity into daily operations. RHH Digital (June 2026) adds that El Corte Inglés valorised more than 94% of managed waste and avoided over 61,000 tonnes of CO₂e emissions through audited systems, staff training and site-level Zero Waste managers. Modaes (August 2025) places these initiatives within the company’s 2025–2030 Sustainability Plan, which links circular economy projects, decarbonisation, governance innovation and the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Digital Leon (March 2026) shows how the retailer uses WWF’s Earth Hour and employee communication to reinforce ESG awareness. Ecommerce Europe (January 2026) provides the regulatory backdrop, with EU environmental rules increasing pressure on retailers around reporting, product liability, textile waste and traceability. Comparable initiatives at Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason, reported by Fashion Network (January 2026) and Retail Week (September 2025), show that customer-facing recycling, creative reuse and circular storytelling are becoming key tools for department stores seeking to turn sustainability into both operational discipline and customer engagement.

El Corte Inglés is moving forward in circular economy