Europe’s New Green blueprint for textiles, furniture, mattresses, iron and steel and aluminium products

On April 16, 2025, the European Commission unveiled its bold Ecodesign for Sustainable Products and Energy Labelling Working Plan for 2025–2030. The 1st working plan under the new EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) will reshape how products are designed, sold, and recycled to make sustainability the new default.

These efforts will significantly broaden the scope of product sustainability information provided to product users. The familiar colourful energy labels for appliances and displays will evolve into comprehensive sustainability labels — to also cover repairability, recycled content, and recyclability. Five new priority product groups will also need to be sold with significantly wider performance and sustainability information, such as carbon content and water consumption. These product groups include textiles, furniture and mattresses, iron and steel and aluminium products, which are expected to provide

A central feature of the new framework is the introduction of a mandatory Digital Product Passport as a condition for placing products on the market. This passport will make the new key sustainability information easily accessible to consumers, while also enhancing compliance checks for customs and market surveillance authorities through automated data exchange capabilities. In addition to the DPP, the five product groups will also come with their own ESPR label, similar to the existing labels for appliance & displays.

The working plan is scheduled for review and update in 2028, setting the stage for the second phase and the possible inclusion of additional products and requirements. Product groups being considered for future inclusion under the ESPR include, but are not limited to, footwear, detergents, paints, lubricants, chemicals, and plastics. Notably, detergents will soon require a Digital Product Passport to be placed on the market — not under ESPR, but as part of the revised Detergents & Surfactants Regulation, without the ESPR ecodesign requirements.

A complete overview of the product-specific requirements under the first ESPR Working Plan (2025–2030) is provided below. Each product group has a defined timeline, starting with the year in which its legislation is adopted through a delegated act. Implementation — including the obligation to provide a Digital Product Passport — will follow 18 months after the delegated act is published in the EU Official Journal.

✅ Final Products (with implementation years):

• Textiles (focus on garments): 2027 delegated act; implementation & DPP required late 2028/early 2029

• Furniture: 2028 delegated act; implementation & DPP required late 2028/early 2029,

• Tyres: 2027 delegated act; implementation required late 2028/early 2029, expand existing labels with recycled content and recyclability information, expected that a DPP will not be mandatory given existing labelling under EPREL database.

• Mattresses: 2029 delegated act, implementation & DPP required by late 2030/early 2031

⚙️ Intermediate Products:

• Iron & Steel: 2026 delegated act, implementation & DPP required by late 2027/early 2028

• Aluminium: 2027 delegated act, implementation & DPP required by late 2028/early 2029

🔌 Energy-Related Products (carried over from earlier plans):

Expected that a DPP for these products will not be mandatory given existing labelling under EPREL database, unless it is concluded after careful assessment that the existing energy labelling approach is unable to provide the most relevant information for consumers.

• Radiators (low-temperature emitters), 2026 delegated act; implementation by late 2027/early 2028.

• Dishwashers: 2026 delegated act, implementation by late 2027/early 2028.

• Washing machines: 2026 delegated act, implementation by late 2027/early 2028.

• TV screens: 2027 delegated act, implementation by late 2028/early 2029.

• EV chargers: 2028 delegated act, implementation by late 2029/early 2030.

• Electric motors: 2028 delegated act, implementation by late 2029/early 2030.

• Refrigerators: 2028 delegated act, implementation by late 2029/early 2030.

• Light sources: 2029 delegated act, implementation by late 2030/early 2031.

• Tumble dryers: 2030 delegated act, implementation by late 2031/early 2032.

• Mobile phones and tablets: 2030 delegated act, implementation by late 2031/early 2032.

• Welding equipment: 2030 delegated act, implementation by late 2031/early 2032.

🔁 Horizontal Requirements for Energy related products & ICT Products:

Expansion of existing energy labels with repairability scoring, recycled content and recyclability information among other updates.

• Repairability scoring: 2027, implementation required by late 2028/early 2029

• Recyclability/recycled content for electronics: 2029, implementation required by late 2030/early 2031