Textiles and Apparel under ESPR and the Digital Product Passport
Textiles is among the highest-priority categories in the first Working Plan. No draft delegated act has been published and no consultation on a draft act has opened; the JRC preparatory studies are the only public material. Note that large enterprises in apparel are already subject to the Article 25 destruction ban on unsold goods from 19 July 2026, well ahead of the DPP obligation.
Key dates for this sector
9 February 2026
Locked
Locked
Article 25 unsold-product rules finalized: derogations act Reg. (EU) 2026/296 and disclosure-format act Reg. (EU) 2026/2.
2026 to 2027
Signaled
Signaled
First category delegated acts expected. Iron and steel is the lead category and the only one to reach public consultation, which ran 20 May to 12 August 2026 and is now closed, with adoption targeted Q4 2026. Textiles, tyres, and aluminium follow. Dates other than the consultation window are indicative.
Late 2026 / early 2027
Signaled
Signaled
ESPR textiles delegated act: proposal expected late 2026, adoption to follow, with realistic compliance around 2028 to 2029.
Expected DPP data requirements (not yet confirmed in an act):
- Item-level traceability and serialization
- Fiber composition and recycled fiber content
- Microplastics release potential
- Disassembly and recycling instructions
- Chemical substances of concern
Watch items
- Article 25 destruction ban already applies to large enterprises for unsold apparel and footwear from 19 July 2026. This is confirmed law, separate from and earlier than the DPP delegated act. Locked
- Delegated act proposal expected late 2026 or early 2027. Compliance timeline of 2028 to 2029 is indicative. Signaled
- The JRC's May 2026 preparatory study proposes the DPP content run in four categories (identification, producer information, product information, compliance documentation) with a role-based access model, for products at least 80% textile fibre by weight. This is a preparatory study, not the delegated act itself, and the categories above may change before the act is proposed. Signaled
What to do now
Verify Article 25 compliance if you are a large enterprise with unsold apparel inventory. Separately, monitor the ESPR delegated act consultation and begin mapping item-level data flows and fiber content tracking against the JRC's four proposed data categories.
Sources: COM(2025) 187: Working Plan · Reg. (EU) 2026/296: Article 25 Derogations · JRC: Study on DPP content for textile apparel products under ESPR (May 2026) · Verified 10 August 2026
Part of ESPR Atlas, the free ESPR and Digital Product Passport intelligence hub. Compare all nine categories on the Sectors in Scope page.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does ESPR apply to textiles and apparel?
Signaled: pre-draft, no draft act published. Key date: 2028 to 2029 (estimated delegated act compliance). This timeline is signaled, not an adopted act; plan against date ranges rather than fixed deadlines.
What Digital Product Passport data will textiles and apparel require?
Expected DPP data requirements (not yet confirmed in an act): Item-level traceability and serialization; Fiber composition and recycled fiber content; Microplastics release potential; Disassembly and recycling instructions; Chemical substances of concern.
What should textiles and apparel companies watch?
Article 25 destruction ban already applies to large enterprises for unsold apparel and footwear from 19 July 2026. This is confirmed law, separate from and earlier than the DPP delegated act. Delegated act proposal expected late 2026 or early 2027. Compliance timeline of 2028 to 2029 is indicative. The JRC's May 2026 preparatory study proposes the DPP content run in four categories (identification, producer information, product information, compliance documentation) with a role-based access model, for products at least 80% textile fibre by weight. This is a preparatory study, not the delegated act itself, and the categories above may change before the act is proposed.
What should textiles and apparel companies do now?
Verify Article 25 compliance if you are a large enterprise with unsold apparel inventory. Separately, monitor the ESPR delegated act consultation and begin mapping item-level data flows and fiber content tracking against the JRC's four proposed data categories.