Ecopreneur.eu feedback on the preparatory study on ecodesign rules for apparel

Brussels – Ecopreneur.eu has submitted detailed feedback to the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) on its preparatory study for textile apparel under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).

Our response focused on what the regulation must deliver for sustainability-frontrunner businesses in the textile sector. These companies have already invested in cleaner materials, circular design, and responsible supply chains, and need the ESPR to create fair market conditions for their products.

We assessed the main design options under consideration and found the JRC working document falling significantly short of the market transformation the ESPR is designed to achieve. The main purpose of the regulation is to set minimum standards to remove the worst performers from the market, anchor them to ambitious green public procurement criteria, and thereby create a market to make sustainable products the norm. The current design options do not yet fulfil that purpose: they lean too much on information requirements and voluntary disclosure rather than the binding, performance-based measures needed to shift demand at scale. For instance, by setting minimum standards for strength, wash durability, and the ease to remove zippers and buttons.

Ecopreneur.eu calls on the JRC and the Commission to raise the level of ambition in the final version of the preparatory study.