ESPR compliance hub: the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation
The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, sets ecodesign rules product group by product group, creates the Digital Product Passport and, since 19 July 2026, bars large companies from destroying unsold clothing, clothing accessories and footwear. This hub explains what applies to you and when, with free tools for the unsold products rules: a scope checker, a disclosure form, a checklist, a timeline and two reference tables.
Three obligations, one regulation
The ESPR creates three distinct requirements for economic operators. Start by working out which of them apply to your organisation, and from when.
What ESPR is and who it applies to
ESPR replaced the Ecodesign Directive (2009/125/EC), which covered only energy-related products. It applies to almost every physical product placed on the EU market, including components and intermediate products. Food, feed, medicines, living organisms and a few other categories are excluded.
It adds three things the old Directive did not have. The Commission can set binding requirements on durability, reparability, recyclability, recycled content, substances of concern and carbon and environmental footprints, one product group at a time, through delegated acts. Products in a regulated group will need a Digital Product Passport. And rules on unsold consumer products already apply, with the prevention duty covering every economic operator.
The obligations fall on economic operators: manufacturers, authorised representatives, importers, distributors, dealers and fulfilment service providers. Which ones apply to you depends on your role, your size and what you sell. Legal text: Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 on EUR-Lex.
What the unsold products rules require
| Obligation | Article | Who | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prevention duty | 23 | All economic operators, whatever their size | 18 July 2024 |
| Disclosure | 24 | Large enterprises; medium-sized enterprises from 19 July 2030 | First full financial year in force (FY2025 for calendar-year companies); Annex I format from 2 March 2027 |
| Destruction ban | 25 | Large enterprises; medium-sized enterprises from 19 July 2030. Covers apparel, clothing accessories and footwear (Annex VII) | 19 July 2026 |
Disclosure. Each year, publish the number and weight of unsold consumer products you discarded, by product category; the reasons, and any derogation you relied on; the share sent to preparing for reuse, recycling, other recovery and disposal; and the measures taken and planned to prevent destruction (Article 24(1)). It covers every unsold consumer product, not only clothing. Categories follow the 2-digit CN chapter, except the 44 headings in Annex II to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2, which are reported at 4-digit level. You can publish on an easily accessible page of your website, or in your CSRD sustainability statement with a link from the website.
Destruction ban. Since 19 July 2026, large enterprises may not destroy unsold apparel, clothing accessories or footwear unless one of the 10 derogations in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/296 applies, for example a dangerous or damaged product. Micro and small enterprises are exempt, but they must not destroy products passed to them to get around the ban (Article 25(2)), and the Commission can extend the rules to them if it finds evidence of circumvention.
Records. Keep the evidence for a derogation for five years after the product is destroyed (Delegated Regulation, Article 3), and keep delivery and reception records, including statements from waste treatment operators, for five years after each disclosure (Implementing Regulation, Article 4).
Timing in practice. A calendar-year company’s first disclosure covered FY2025. The standardised Annex I format applies from the first full financial year after 2 March 2027, so FY2028 for a calendar-year company, published within 12 months of year end.
The Digital Product Passport
The Digital Product Passport is a digital record linked to a unique product identifier and reached through a data carrier such as a QR code. The delegated act for each product group decides what goes in it (for example materials, substances of concern, durability and repair information, recycled content or carbon footprint), which data carrier to use, and whether passports are kept at model, batch or item level.
ESPR required the Commission to set up a central registry of passport identifiers by 19 July 2026. That date does not mean every product needs a passport now: passports become mandatory group by group, as each delegated act applies. If you make or import products in a priority group, structure your product data for a passport early, because much of it overlaps with what your sustainability reporting already collects.
The ESPR Working Plan 2025–2030
The Commission adopted its first ESPR and energy labelling Working Plan on 16 April 2025 (COM(2025) 187). It names the product groups that will receive ecodesign requirements first: textiles (with a focus on apparel), furniture, tyres and mattresses as final products; iron and steel and aluminium as intermediate products; and horizontal rules on repairability and on the recycled content and recyclability of electrical and electronic equipment. It also carries over 16 energy-related products from the previous plan, such as household dishwashers, displays and EV chargers.
Indicative adoption dates include 2027 for textiles and tyres and 2029 for mattresses. Product-specific requirements bind only once each delegated act is adopted and applies, which is why this page carries a review date.
Free compliance tools, no sign-up required
The tools run in your browser and do not send what you enter to a server. Completed reports download as PDF.
Understand the regulation
Analysis of the ESPR unsold products rules, from the legal text to practical compliance steps and what the data means for ESG analysis.
Look up what you need
Searchable tables built from the regulatory texts, with PDF exports.
Compliance timeline at a glance
The most important deadlines for large and medium-sized enterprises. For the full timeline with all milestones, see the interactive timeline tool.
Penalties and enforcement
ESPR leaves penalties to the Member States. They must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive, and must take account of the nature, gravity and duration of an infringement, whether it was intentional and any economic benefit gained (Article 74). Amounts and procedures therefore differ by country, so check the rules in each market where you sell.
National authorities check disclosures on a risk basis (Annex III to the Implementing Regulation). They look, for example, at missing or unusually low figures, a high share of unknown treatment routes and a company’s past record, and they compare disclosed figures with delivery documents: a difference of less than 10% counts as compliant.
ESPR and circular economy reporting
Passport and disclosure data describe materials, waste and product circularity: the same themes reported under ESRS E5 in a CSRD sustainability statement, the circular economy objective of the EU Taxonomy, and GRI 301 and 306. Collect the data once and map it to each framework. See our circular economy reporting solution.
Last reviewed 1 October 2026 against Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/296, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2 and COM(2025) 187 on EUR-Lex.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the ESPR?
The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), formally Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, sets the framework for ecodesign requirements for products on the EU market. It also creates the Digital Product Passport, a disclosure obligation covering all discarded unsold consumer products, and a destruction ban that starts with apparel, clothing accessories and footwear.
When did ESPR come into force?
ESPR entered into force on 18 July 2024, but its obligations phase in. The destruction ban has applied to large enterprises since 19 July 2026, the standardised disclosure format applies from 2 March 2027, and medium-sized enterprises are brought in on 19 July 2030. Product-specific requirements follow through delegated acts.
Which companies are subject to the ESPR destruction ban?
Large enterprises selling apparel, clothing accessories or footwear on the EU market have been subject to the destruction ban since 19 July 2026. Medium-sized enterprises become subject from 19 July 2030. Micro and small enterprises are exempt from the ban but must still take reasonable steps to prevent destruction under Article 23, and must not destroy products passed to them to get around the ban.
Does the disclosure obligation cover more than just clothing?
Yes. The disclosure obligation under Article 24 covers all discarded unsold consumer products. 44 product categories, including electronics, household appliances, furniture, hygiene products, tyres and toys, must be reported by 4-digit CN code; all other consumer products by 2-digit CN code (Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2). Use our CN code reference to check how your products are reported.
What do companies have to disclose about unsold products?
Each year: the number and weight of unsold consumer products discarded, by category; the reasons, and any derogation relied on; the share sent to preparing for reuse, recycling, other recovery and disposal; and the measures taken and planned to prevent destruction (Article 24(1)).
What is the Digital Product Passport?
A digital record of product information linked to a unique identifier and reached through a data carrier such as a QR code. The delegated act for each product group sets what it contains, so passports become mandatory group by group rather than for all products at once.
What is the ESPR Working Plan?
The Commission’s list of product groups that will receive ecodesign requirements first. The 2025–2030 plan, adopted on 16 April 2025, prioritises textiles (apparel), furniture, tyres, mattresses, iron and steel and aluminium, plus horizontal rules on repairability and on recycled content in electrical and electronic equipment.
What are the penalties for breaching ESPR?
Member States set them. They must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive, so amounts and procedures differ by country. Because disclosures are public, a breach is also visible to customers and investors.
Are these tools free to use?
Yes. The tools need no sign-up and run in your browser; they do not send what you enter to a server. Completed forms and reference tables download as PDF at no cost.
Who should use these resources?
Sustainability and compliance officers at consumer goods companies, legal advisers, ESG managers at financial institutions, fund managers with consumer goods holdings, and anyone tracking EU product sustainability rules.
