Eco-design and the Digital Product Passport

The European Commission defined eco-design in Directive 2008 n.98 as "the systematic integration of environmental aspects into the product design with the aim of improving its environmental performance throughout the entire life cycle." Manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment and other "energy-related" products such as refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, computers, boilers, and air conditioners must already comply with eco-design standards to reduce energy consumption and mitigate negative environmental impact.

 

The recent European Eco-design regulation proposal, presented by the Commission and the European Parliament in March 2022 and still under discussion, extended the eco-design requirements to other products, including textiles and apparel, and provided a more precise definition. Eco-design encompasses a list of features to be further articulated for each type of product, including durability, reliability, reusability, upgradeability, repairability, maintenance and refurbishment, absence of hazardous substances, energy and natural resource consumption, recycled material content, reusability and recyclability, overall environmental impacts throughout the life cycle, including carbon and environmental footprint, and waste generation in production and consumption.

 

The approval of the regulation will introduce a paradigm shift in the fashion industry's design practices and challenge the brand's style offices and designers to balance aesthetics and "coolness" with the product's environmental performance. Another challenge involves introducing circularity and sustainability into designers' education curricula, an aspect that fashion schools are not entirely ready to address. On the other hand, eco-design will significantly contribute to reducing the industry's environmental impact, considering that "Up to 80% of the environmental impact of products is determined in the design phase," as reported by the European study "Eco-design your future, how eco-design can help the environment by making products smarter."

 

An essential prerequisite to implementing eco-design principles is the digital product passport. This document serves as an "inventory" of all information related to materials and auxiliary products used in the production process. It is a tool that requires traceability throughout the supply chain. The European Commission describes the digital passport of a specific product as a set of data and information regarding eco-design requirements throughout its production chain. With the passport, data and information are made accessible digitally to direct customers and end-users (consumers). Therefore, the passport will provide all stakeholders in the supply chain and consumers with information on aspects such as origin, composition not only by fibre but also regarding the recycling content, the presence of hazardous substances, repairability, opportunities for recycling at the end of the product's life, carbon and water footprint.

 

And it will not be an avoidable obligation: products could only be "placed on the market," i.e., sold to customers and consumers if the respective digital passport is available.