Deal on new EU rules to make sustainable products the norm

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament.

• New “ecodesign” rules for products to last longer and be easier to repair, upgrade and recycle 
• Ban on destroying unsold clothing and footwear  
• Sustainability requirements should be prioritised for e.g. steel, textiles, furniture, tyres, chemicals 

On Monday night, Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on revising the EU’s ecodesign framework for sustainable products.

Parliament and Council negotiators agreed on an update to the so-called “ecodesign” regulation that aims to improve various aspects of products throughout their lifecycle to make them more durable and reliable, easier to reuse, upgrade, repair and recycle, use less resources, energy and water. Specific product requirements will be outlined by the Commission through secondary legislation.

Negotiators agreed that ecodesign requirements should also address practices associated with premature obsolescence (when a product becomes non-functional or less performant due to, for example, product design features, unavailability of consumables and spare parts, lack of software updates).

Priority products

At Parliament’s initiative, negotiators agreed that the Commission should prioritise a number of product groups in its first working plan to be adopted no later than nine months after the entry into force of the new legislation. These priority products include iron, steel, aluminium, textiles (notably garments and footwear), furniture, tyres, detergents, paints, lubricants and chemicals.

Better-informed consumers

Digital “product passports” containing accurate and up-to-date information will enable consumers to make informed purchasing choices. According to the agreed text, the Commission will manage a public web portal allowing consumers to search and compare information included in product passports.

Reporting and bans on the destruction of unsold consumer products

Economic operators that destroy unsold goods would have to report annually the quantities of products they discarded as well as their reasons why. Negotiators agreed to specifically ban the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear, two years after the entry into force of the law (six years for medium-sized enterprises). In the future, the Commission may add additional categories to the list of unsold products for which a destruction ban should be introduced.

Quote

Rapporteur Alessandra Moretti (S&D, IT) said: “It is time to end the model of “take, make, dispose” that is so harmful to our planet, our health and our economy. New products will be designed in a way that benefits all, respects our planet and protects the environment. Sustainable products will become the norm, allowing consumers to save energy, repair and make smart environmental choices when they are shopping. Banning the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear will also contribute to a shift in the way fast fashion manufactures produce their goods.”

Next steps

Following the completion of work at technical level, Parliament and Council need to formally approve the agreement before it can come into force.

Background

On 30 March 2022, the Commission put forward a proposal for a regulation to establish a general framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products and to repeal current rules which focus on energy-related products only. The revised rules, part of a circular economy package, would apply to almost all products on the internal market (except food, feed, medicinal products, living organisms).