The new Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation builds on the existing Ecodesign Directive, which now only covers energy-related products. It aims at significantly improving the circularity, energy performance and other environmental sustainability aspects of products placed on the EU market, an official release said.

Eco-design concerns the integration of environmental considerations into all stages of product development.

With the passing of the regulation, a sustainable product will have to display one or more of the following characteristics: uses less energy, lasts longer, can be easily repaired, parts can be easily disassembled and put to further use, contains fewer substances of concern, can be easily recycled, contains more recycled content, and has a lower carbon and environmental footprint over its lifecycle.

The Regulation also introduces measures to ban the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear and opens a way to extend similar bans on other sectors, if evidence shows they are needed.

Companies will also be required to publicly disclose on their websites annual information related to the number and weight of products they discarded, as well as the reasons for doing so.

It also enables mandatory Green Public Procurement criteria to spend public funding in a more sustainable direction. Public authorities in the EU in fact spend around €1.8 trillion purchasing works, goods and services.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)