Why the ESPR must mandate performance requirements for textiles

The EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) is about to set the first concrete rules for textiles in the bloc. As the EU’s flagship framework for “making sustainable products the norm” and reducing carbon and environmental footprints throughout their life cycles, it has the potential to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in Europe.

By establishing mandatory performance criteria at an EU level, the ESPR can embed circular economy principles directly into product design and market access conditions, delivering a robust legislative framework for the EU’s environmental objectives and a more competitive, resilient economy.

This white paper sets out a series of recommendations aiming at strengthening the Delegated Act. To prevent the least durable products from reaching the market, create a level playing field, and give businesses the regulatory certainty to invest in circular design, the Delegated Act should:

• Convert robustness from an information requirement to a mandatory performance requirement with binding market access thresholds
• Strengthen the recyclability criterion, including lowering the elastane threshold
• Prioritise post-consumer fibre-to-fibre recycled content, with targets rising over time
• Move toward a mandatory product-level repairability requirement in a future revision of the Delegated Act

Download the ESPR White Paper