The European Parliament and Council have reached a provisional agreement on revising the European Union’s (EU) ecodesign framework for sustainable products. Report by ILM.

The framework aims to improve products through legislation to ensure they are more durable, easier to repair, use less resources and more recyclable. Secondary legislation will identify requirements for specific products.

Negotiators have agreed that the Commission should prioritise a number of product groups in the first working plan, to be adopted no later than nine months after the legislation comes into force. These include textiles (garments and footwear), furniture and chemicals.

The Commission has agreed to manage a public web portal for consumers to search and compare product passport information.

Meanwhile, destroyed unsold goods will need to reportedly annually with quantities and reasons. Negotiators also agreed to ban the destruction of unsold apparel, clothing accessories and footwear two years after the legislation comes into force (six years for medium-sized enterprises). The Commission may also add further products to this ban.

The European Footwear Confederation (CEC) has responded to the news, welcoming the prospective legislation and noting that it will “eventually support the ‘rehabilitation’ of leather, a sustainable and durable material, victim of market demonisation in the last years”.

Now, the European Parliament and Council will need to formally approve the agreement before the legislation can come into force.