Sustainability regulations

Textile and leather products, production processes and working conditions are subject to varying global laws. Here you can find a summary of the most important EU regulations.

Corporate Due Diligence Obligations

Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)

The CSDDD is an EU directive that obliges large companies to respect human rights and comply with environmental standards throughout their entire supply chain. The aim is to promote sustainable and responsible business practices. Companies must identify and assess risks and take measures to counteract negative impacts.

In concrete terms, this means:

Taking into account all measurable environmental impacts such as harmful soil changes, harmful emissions, excessive water consumption and other impacts on natural resources.
Developing a climate-related transition plan in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Companies should prepare to fully implement the CSDDD requirements by 2028.

In addition to the EU directive, there are other national regulations, for example:

Duty of Vigilance Act (France)
Child Labour Due Diligence Act (Netherlands)

Due diligence obligations in the supply chain

What do due diligence obligations mean in supply chains?

Companies bear responsibility for human rights and the environment – not only for their own business activities, but also for those of their subsidiaries, direct business partners and, in the event of signs of human rights violations or environmental damage, their business partners.

Due diligence obligations include the following in detail:

Regular risk analysis, prioritisation and disclosure
Development of guidelines and prevention mechanisms
Immediate mitigation and remediation of negative impacts
Establishment of secure communication channels for stakeholders
Public reporting on the fulfilment of due diligence obligations

Our solutions for your business

We offer tailored support to meet your due diligence requirements:

Customised consulting

Analysis

Certification

Circular Economy

Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP)

A key component of the EU Green Deal is the transition to a circular economy and the gradual elimination of single-use products. In future, products must be designed to be reusable, repairable and recyclable – and to have as little environmental impact as possible throughout their entire life cycle.

Waste management

Legal developments such as the Waste Framework Directive (WFD) set clear priorities: waste prevention is the top priority. It is therefore crucial to pay attention to circular economy principles as early as the design phase.

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) obliges brands to bear the costs of collecting, sorting and recycling their products, especially textiles. These regulations vary from country to country and are part of the Waste Directive and the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. In order to meet legal requirements, companies must optimise their waste management systems and ensure that materials are reused rather than disposed of wherever possible.

Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)

The Ecodesign Regulation also aims to improve the circular economy, energy efficiency and other environmental aspects of products:

Improving the durability and reparability of products
Improving energy and resource efficiency
Substances of Concern (SOC) that, among other things, impair recyclability
Setting rules for carbon footprint and environmental impact
Improving the availability of sustainability information on products

As part of the Ecodesign Regulation, a digital product passport is therefore planned, which requires, among other things, the availability of data on supply chain partners and environmental data.

Our solutions for promoting the circular economy:

Product durability

Biodegradation of chemicals

Certified chemicals

Biodegradation of textiles

Tests for harmful substances

Responsible production

Co2 footprint

Sustainable Design

Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)

The EU Ecodesign Regulation aims to make products more sustainable, durable and recyclable. It promotes the circular economy and sets new standards for resource efficiency and ecological product design.

Requirements:

Improvement of durability and reparability
Increase in energy and resource efficiency
Avoidance of substances of concern
Recording of carbon footprint and environmental impact
Introduction of a digital product passport

Our solutions for supporting sustainable design:

Product durability

Biodegradation of chemicals

Certified chemicals

Biodegradation of textiles

Tests for harmful substances

Responsible production

Co2 footprint

Environmental impact

Zero Pollution Action Plan

The Zero Pollution Action Plan is a key initiative of the European Commission as part of the European Green Deal. The aim is to create an environment by 2050 in which air, water and soil pollution is reduced to levels that respect health, ecosystems and planetary boundaries.

We offer various solutions to improve environmental impact in a sustainable manner:

Certified chemicals

Biodegradation of chemicals

Tests for harmful substances

Fibre release during washing

Product durability

Water and Co2 footprint

Responsible production

Due diligence obligations

Transparency

Product Labelling and Digital Product Passport (DPP)

For the EU Green Deal, the circular economy and thus transparency of the actors involved in the supply chain is one of the key factors.

As part of the digital product passport, the following product-specific information, among other things, is to be disclosed in future:

Origin of materials
Manufacturing processes
Life cycle and disposal of products
Repair options
Recyclability

We already offer solutions for products with transparent origins and traceable supply chains:

Supply chain transparency

Organically grown fibres

OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100 for recycled materials

Automated data exchange between suppliers, manufacturers, brands and retailers

The Global Textile Scheme (GTS) provides a common data structure for digital product passports in the textile industry. It was developed in accordance with the new EU requirements and supports partners in the supply chain in exchanging uniform, machine-readable product information – based on existing systems and workflows.

Global Textile Scheme - all details

Communication

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)

Reliable data is the foundation of any sustainability strategy. The CSRD requires companies to report on ESG issues in accordance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).

The following topics are subject to reporting requirements:

Climate change mitigation and adaptation
Greenhouse gas emissions
Environmental pollution
Human rights and labour practices
Consumer and end-user issues
Business ethics and conduct

Products that enable the necessary data collection and support improvements in socio-ecological performance:

Water and CO2 footprint

Responsible production

Corporate due diligence obligations

Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (EmpCo)

The Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive (EmpCo) aims to protect consumers from misleading environmental claims and labels and to increase transparency in sustainability claims.

Sustainability labels must be based on certified systems
Advertising claims must be substantiated by outstanding performance (e.g. through OEKO-TEX® certificates)

The following are prohibited:

Vague terms such as ‘environmentally friendly’ without proof
Misleading or irrelevant advertising

With our solutions, you can communicate with legal certainty – based on robust standards and certifications:

Green Button

Corporate due diligence obligations

OEKO-TEX® certificates & product labels

Regulatory framework for sustainable action

We offer tailored support to meet your due diligence requirements: