Navigating the New EU Ecodesign Regulations
Understand the EU's new sustainability requirements and how our Digital Product Passport solution ensures your business is compliant.
The EU's Vision: A Circular Economy
The European Union is shifting from a traditional "take-make-dispose" model to a circular economy. The goal is to make products more sustainable, reducing waste and environmental impact.
The cornerstone of this initiative is the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). This regulation sets a new framework for nearly all physical goods sold in the EU, ensuring they are designed to be more durable, reusable, repairable, and recyclable.
What's Changing for Your Business?
The ESPR introduces several key requirements that businesses must follow. These changes aim to empower consumers, conserve resources, and reduce waste across the Union.
Durability & Repairability
Products must be designed to last longer and be easier to repair, with spare parts and repair information made available.
Digital Product Passport (DPP)
Key product information must be made available through a Digital Product Passport. This provides transparency on a product's origins, materials, and lifecycle.
Ban on Destroying Unsold Goods
The regulation introduces a direct ban on the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear, with potential for expansion to other product categories.
Increased Recycled Content
Products will be required to incorporate a minimum percentage of recycled content, boosting the market for secondary raw materials.
What changes are required?
The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) mandates a comprehensive set of new requirements for businesses, impacting product design, information transparency, and waste management.
Performance and Information Requirements
Products must meet new standards for sustainability. Ecodesign requirements will ensure products are:
- More durable, reliable, and easier to repair and upgrade.
- Simpler to maintain, refurbish, and recycle.
- Designed to reduce energy and resource consumption.
- Made with more recycled content, reducing reliance on virgin materials.
- Free of hazardous chemicals that complicate recycling.
The Digital Product Passport (DPP)
The DPP is a key innovation of the ESPR. It will provide a digital record of a product's lifecycle, offering transparency on material composition, manufacturing origins, repair instructions, and recycling information. This empowers consumers and businesses to make more sustainable choices.
Transparency and Waste Prevention
The regulation introduces a direct ban on the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear, a significant step to combat waste. Businesses will also be required to disclose the quantities of unsold goods they discard and why.
Industry-Specific Requirements
While the ESPR is a framework regulation, it sets out immediate, concrete rules for certain sectors and prioritizes others for future delegated acts.
Textiles, Apparel, and Footwear
This sector is one of the first to be impacted. According to Annex VII of the regulation, there is now a direct ban on the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing accessories, and footwear. This is a critical measure to reduce waste in the fast-fashion industry.
In addition to the destruction ban, these products will be among the first to require a Digital Product Passport. This will mandate transparency on material composition, supply chain origins, and recyclability.
Future Focus: Electronics, Furniture, and More
The ESPR empowers the European Commission to introduce detailed ecodesign rules for a wide range of products. High-impact sectors that will be targeted for future regulations include:
- Electronics and ICT equipment
- Furniture
- Batteries and vehicles
- Packaging
- Plastics
- Construction products
Businesses in these industries should begin preparing for upcoming Digital Product Passport requirements and other sustainability benchmarks.