Summary

On April 16, 2025, the European Commission released its first working plan for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). Spanning from 2025 to 2030, the roadmap defines which products will be subject to new ecodesign and information requirements – and when. This includes digital product passports, repairability scores, minimum recycled content, and more. In this blog post, we break down what’s in the working plan, what it means for industries like furniture, textiles, and electronics, and why it’s time to act.
Photograph of a printed document titled "ESPR Working Plan 2025–2030" on a wooden desk with an EU flag on the cover.
Update, June 2026: The Working Plan is in its implementation phase. The EU's central DPP registry is due to go live by July 2026, and the Commission proposal for the first textile delegated act is expected in late 2026, with adoption indicatively in 2027 and roughly 18 months of transition before compliance.

What is the ESPR – and why does it matter?

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation is the EU's flagship instrument to make sustainable products the norm. It replaces the older Ecodesign Directive and extends it beyond energy-related products to cover nearly all physical goods, including furniture, apparel, and home appliances.

Under ESPR, the EU can mandate that products:

  • Are repairable, recyclable, and durable
  • Include a Digital Product Passport (DPP)
  • Disclose environmental and carbon footprints
  • Contain recycled content
  • Avoid the destruction of unsold goods

It's not just policy – it's the blueprint for what products can be sold in the EU over the next decade.

🔗 Learn more about how the ESPR works on the official page.

What's in the 2025–2030 ESPR Working Plan?

The plan, adopted on April 16, 2025, outlines when and how different product categories will be affected. Here's what matters most:

📌 Prioritised Product Categories

According to the EU press release, the first wave of ecodesign requirements will cover:

  • Textiles (especially clothing and fashion items)
  • Furniture and mattresses
  • Steel and aluminium
  • Tyres
  • Washing machines, TVs, dishwashers, and small electronics

These sectors were selected for their high environmental impact and circularity potential.

🛠 “Horizontal measures” like repairability scores and recyclability info will also apply to consumer electronics and household devices.

🧾 Digital Product Passport (DPP)

Step by step, products under ecodesign rules will require a digital product passport that includes:

  • Sustainability and carbon footprint data
  • Origin of materials
  • Repair history
  • Recycling instructions

The DPP will be mandatory for all products under ecodesign regulation and will follow standardised, machine-readable formats. The technical foundation is being built now: the EU's central DPP registry is due to go live by July 2026, and the first mandatory passport arrives with the EU Battery Regulation in February 2027. How the passport will change fashion specifically, we covered in this article.

Photograph of a printed document titled "ESPR Working Plan 2025–2030" on a wooden desk with an EU flag on the cover.
The Digital Product Passport will contain key data on sustainability, materials, and circular value.

🗓️ Timeline Highlights

  • 2026: New rules start for steel, displays, washing machines
  • July 2026: The EU's central DPP registry is due to be operational
  • Late 2026: Commission proposal for the first textile delegated act expected
  • 2027–2029: Extended to textiles, furniture, mattresses
  • 2028: Mid-term review
  • 2030: End of current plan horizon – more categories to be added

How does this affect your industry?

🪑 Furniture & Interiors

Manufacturers must prepare for requirements on:

  • Repairability (e.g. replaceable components, spare parts)
  • Minimum recycled content
  • Second-life strategies (reuse and refurbishment incentives)
  • Material transparency (origin of wood, upholstery, coatings)

Check out how IKEA already operationalises second-life resale – this is where the industry is heading.

👕 Fashion & Textiles

Textile companies will need to:

  • Integrate Digital Product Passports
  • Avoid destroying unsold items (ban expected)
  • Prepare for EPR-style obligations tied to collection and reuse
  • Design for durability and recyclability

🔌 Electronics & Appliances

From TVs to toasters, producers will face:

  • Repairability scores
  • Mandatory recyclability disclosures
  • Spare parts availability and disassembly rules
  • Stricter rules for imported products via customs checks on DPP compliance

You can also check out the full explanation of the ElektroG in Germany here.

Key quotes from the Commission

Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall frames the plan like this: “This initiative marks a major step toward making the circular economy a reality and accelerating the decarbonisation of key value chains.”

Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice President for Industrial Strategy, adds: “It will deliver significant benefits for all Europeans, create opportunities for businesses and employment, and protect the planet.”

What comes next?

The Commission plans to:

  • Finalise the DPP standards and bring the central EU registry online by July 2026
  • Table the first delegated acts, starting with textiles (proposal expected late 2026)
  • Strengthen market surveillance, especially for e-commerce and non-EU imports
  • Conduct studies on additional sectors like chemicals, shoes, and construction materials

So what should you do?

Start now. The ESPR working plan is not a distant goal – it's the beginning of a massive shift in product strategy, data, logistics, and customer communication.

With platforms like koorvi, you can already start building:

  • Take-back systems that return value from old products
  • Tracking infrastructure for DPP compliance
  • Partnerships for refurbishment and second-life resale
  • Transparent product information workflows

👉 Want help preparing for ESPR? Let's talk.

FAQs

What is the ESPR and why is it the EU's most important sustainability regulation?

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) replaces the old Ecodesign Directive and extends sustainability requirements to nearly all physical goods, from furniture to apparel to appliances. It can mandate repairability, recyclability, durability, recycled content, Digital Product Passports and a ban on destroying unsold goods. In practice, it defines which products can still be sold in the EU over the next decade.

What is the status of the ESPR Working Plan in mid-2026?

The Working Plan, adopted in April 2025, is in its implementation phase. The EU's central DPP registry is due to be operational by July 2026, the technical DPP standards are being finalised, and the Commission proposal for the first textile delegated act is expected in late 2026. Adoption for textiles is indicatively planned for 2027, followed by roughly 18 months of transition before companies must comply.

When does the Digital Product Passport become mandatory?

Per product group, once its delegated act applies. The first mandatory passport arrives with the EU Battery Regulation in February 2027; textiles, furniture and electronics follow as their ESPR delegated acts are adopted, realistically from 2027/2028. The technical foundation, including the central EU registry, goes live in 2026, so brands should build their product data infrastructure now.

How does ESPR impact furniture, fashion, and electronics manufacturers?

Furniture brands face repairability requirements, minimum recycled content and second-life strategies. Fashion gets the Digital Product Passport, a ban on destroying unsold goods and take-back obligations. Electronics manufacturers must provide repairability scores, spare parts and disassembly information, with DPP compliance checked at customs for imports. The common thread: every sector needs clean product and material data.

How should companies prepare for ESPR?

Build the operational base before the rules bite: clean product and material data, a take-back channel, and refurbishment and resale partnerships. The requirements arrive step by step via delegated acts, so a roadmap per product group is more useful than waiting for final texts. Resale-as-a-Service platforms like koorvi deliver take-back, tracking and second-life infrastructure that doubles as ESPR groundwork.