Open letter on Ecodesign for footwear: Don’t lose sight of measures for more sustainable production and use of shoes
With the upcoming adoption of the Ecodesign working plan, the European Commission will determine which product groups will be prioritised for the development of Ecodesign requirements.
Ahead of this announcement, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) is already conducting a preliminary study focused solely on apparel.
This raises concerns that the “textiles and footwear” product group may concentrate exclusively on establishing ecodesign requirements for apparel, potentially delaying the development of requirements for footwear. However, there is an urgent need for ecodesign requirements for footwear due to the significant environmental impact associated with its production.
In response to this issue, RREUSE has joined forces with 12 other organisations to call on the European Commission to take the following actions:
- Include footwear as a priority product group in the ESPR work plan;
- Launch as soon as possible a preliminary study on ecodesign requirements for footwear, in addition to the one currently underway for apparel.