Sustainability

THE EUROPEAN ECODESIGN REGULATION (ESPR)

Sustainability becomes law

This is the second in a series of articles about regulations and directives that are part of the European strategy for sustainable and circular textiles and that are radically changing the regulatory landscape for the fashion supply chain.

 

As of 13 June 2024, the new European Regulation on Ecodesign Requirements for Sustainable Products (ESPR - Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) is in force, updating the previous Directive (EU) 2020/1828 and Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 

 

The scope of the regulation

The Regulation is immediately applicable in all EU Member States and applies to all physical goods placed on the EU market, including those imported from outside the EU. 

 

Products manufactured outside the EU must comply with the same sustainability and design requirements as those produced within the EU (Article 3).

 

The regulation covers the characteristics of a product and the processes that take place along the entire product value chain (Article 2).

 

The regulation defines a list of product characteristics that are part of a product's ecodesign requirements (Article 5), which are later to be articulated more precisely sector by sector by the specific texts of the “delegated acts” implementing the regulation, but the “delegated acts”, i.e. the technical annexes defining the sector-specific requirements, are still missing and are expected to be published between late 2025 and early 2026. For these same features, the regulation also includes obligations to request greater disclosure of information (Article 7).

 

Product characteristics that fall under the definition of Ecodesign

  • Durability
  • Reliability
  • Re-usability
  • Repairability
  • Possibility of maintenance
  • Recycled content
  • Possibility of regeneration
  • Recyclability and possibility of material recovery
  • Generation of waste
  • Presence of problematic substances
  • Energy, water and resource efficiency
  • Carbon and environmental footprint.

 

What Changes for Companies?

The regulation introduces obligations and prohibitions of great importance.

  • The Digital Product Passport (DPP): Among the obligations, one pillar is the establishment of the DPP for all products (Articles 9 to 15), which will have to include traceability elements and description of material and supply chain characteristics and be easily available to customers and end consumers. It shall also include information on reparability, recyclability and sustainability. 
  • The Prohibition of Destruction of Unsold Garments: Among the prohibitions is the one concerning the destruction of unsold garments (Chapter VI of the Regulation). From July 2026 (2030 for medium-sized farms) unsold products may not be destroyed (with some exceptions). Companies will have to report their unsold volumes and management practices, large companies from 2025, medium-sized companies from 2030. Micro and small companies are exempt.

Sanctions

Sanctions for non-compliance, however, will be defined by each Member State. The regulation merely defines some criteria on which to base them.

 

Act now, without waiting for the “last minute”

Starting already today the process of compliance with the regulation is a key factor in order to avoid arriving non-compliant with deadlines and thus risking sanctions and blocking of goods. The sanctions for non-compliance, however, will be defined by each Member State, the regulation merely defines some criteria on which to base the sanctions.

 

Fashion companies generally show a tendency to act only “at the last minute” close to deadlines, an approach that could be called Wait-and-See. In the case of the ESPR, adopting a Wait-and-See approach would inevitably result in arriving unprepared for the deadline.

 

Indeed, ESPR requires a radical change in the procedures of design, procurement, information management and even the marketing and communication tools used by the company. In other words, it requires initiating a profound process that takes time and cannot be accomplished from one moment to the next.

 

Think for example of the need to apply the requirements of the ESPR already in the design phase of the collections and to plan from the outset the collection of the information necessary for the PLR. As we know, for companies adopting the model of “seasonal planning” the design starts 12 months before the release in shops and the design of the fabrics 18 months before. It is therefore necessary to be ready well in advance. Furthermore, it is necessary to involve the supply chain (Tier 1, 2, 3...) in the collection and systematisation of information, a long and difficult process that takes time. 

 

No Wait-and-See then! Having the infrastructure to ensure ESPR compliance ready as early as 2026 is the right choice.