Ecodesign for textiles without harmful chemicals

The new EU Ecodesign Regulation seeks to make sustainable products the norm, with textiles among the first categories included in its scope. This should reassure consumers that clothing sold on the EU market meets clear sustainability standards. However, the current draft of the Ecodesign criteria for textiles contains a significant gap: it fails to include restrictions on the use of harmful chemicals.

There is extensive evidence that hazardous chemicals used in textile manufacturing harm workers, surrounding communities, and the environment. Some substances that remain in finished products may also pose risks to consumers - especially vulnerable groups such as young children. Yet, the draft criteria neither restrict the use of such chemicals nor require transparency about the substances during production. Without addressing this, how can textiles truly be considered sustainable?

Furthermore, the chemical composition of textiles directly affects their potential for reuse, refurbishment, or recycling. Professionals involved in sorting, refurbishing, and recycling need detailed information about harmful substances to ensure safe and effective circular economy practices. The current approach fails to provide this essential level of transparency.

In response, ClientEarth submitted comments on the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) preparatory study on textile products. The comments emphasise the need to:

• Track all substances of concern throughout the product lifecycle, in line with REACH regulations on substances of very high concern (SVHC) and to support circular business models.
• Restrict harmful chemicals that undermine the Ecodesign Regulation’s sustainability goals or contaminate material streams, thereby putting the EU’s circular economy ambitions at risk.