EU adopts Ecodesign regulation and bans destroying unsold textiles, footwear

The European Council approved a new Ecodesign framework setting sustainability requirements for nearly all products and banning the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear, introducing a Digital Product Passport. The rules raise circularity and durability standards that Indian textile and footwear exporters to the EU must meet.

The European Council approved a new Ecodesign framework setting sustainability standards for nearly all EU products, plus a ban on destroying unsold textiles and footwear, following European Parliament approval in April. Stemming from a March 2022 Commission proposal, it replaces the 2009 Ecodesign directive, which covered only energy-related products. The Commission can now set requirements on durability, reusability, upgradability, reparability, recycled content, remanufacturing, recycling, and carbon and environmental footprints across almost all categories, excluding motor vehicles and defense-related products.

Manufacturers, importers, and retailers across nearly all product categories are affected, especially textiles and footwear producers facing the ban on destroying unsold goods. The ban takes effect two years after the regulation becomes law, with exemptions for small and micro companies and a six-year exemption for medium-sized companies. A new Digital Product Passport will require firms to provide environmental sustainability information, and the Commission will create a public web portal where consumers can search and compare product passport data.

Producers and importers should prepare for forthcoming ecodesign requirements and the Digital Product Passport, and textiles and footwear firms should plan for the unsold-destruction ban taking effect two years after the law, noting company-size exemptions. Companies must also prepare to report quantities of unsold goods destroyed and reasons. Indian textile and footwear exporters to the EU should monitor product-specific durability, recycled-content, and reparability requirements and Digital Product Passport obligations affecting market access.

Key figure — Unsold textile and footwear destruction ban: effective two years after the regulation becomes law