EU agrees ecodesign rules and digital product passports for sustainability

EU Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement revising the ecodesign framework to make products more durable, repairable and recyclable, introducing digital product passports and bans on destroying unsold apparel. Indian manufacturers exporting to the EU face new design, transparency and circularity requirements across priority product groups.

EU Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement revising the ecodesign regulation to make products more durable, reliable, reusable, upgradeable, repairable and recyclable while reducing resource, energy and water use. The Commission will set detailed product requirements through subsequent legislation, addressing premature obsolescence. Priority product groups in the Commission's initial working plan, to be adopted within nine months of the law taking effect, include iron, steel, aluminium, textiles, furniture, tyres, detergents, paints, lubricants and chemicals.

The regulation affects nearly all manufacturers and economic operators on the EU internal market, excluding food, feed, medicinal products and living organisms. Producers must implement digital product passports containing accurate, current information searchable through a Commission-managed public web portal. Operators discarding unsold goods face reporting requirements, and a ban on destroying unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear takes effect two years after enactment, with six years for medium-sized enterprises. Textiles, steel and furniture sectors face the earliest scrutiny.

Manufacturers should prepare for digital product passport requirements and monitor the Commission's working plan, due within nine months of enactment, prioritising steel, aluminium, textiles and other listed groups. Companies discarding unsold goods should track the apparel destruction ban timeline of two years after enactment, or six years for medium-sized enterprises. Indian exporters in textiles, footwear and listed sectors should review product durability, repairability and traceability to meet cascading ecodesign and transparency obligations.

Key figure — Working plan deadline: priority product groups adopted within nine months of enactment