The Ecodesign Regulation

The Ecodesign Regulation is an EU framework designed to improve the sustainability and circularity of products throughout their lifecycle.

This week marked an important milestone. The Digital Product Passport infrastructure went live, with textiles identified as one of the EU's priority sectors.

Fashion is no longer later. It’s happening.  

We built for this

It’s always been a priority for me to build something that was sustainable.

Our fabrics are made from 100% GOTS certified organic cotton. Our factories are powered by renewable energy.

Our dyeing process alone, is worth reading about, all garments are dyed in a closed loop system where water comes out clean enough to drink.

Using low-waste digital printing technology and water-based inks that conform to GOTS and Soil Association organic criteria is crucial to circularity. Our inks contain no animal-derived products and are not tested on animals.

And we print on demand, reducing overproduction.

Organic cotton garments awaiting production. Building sustainability begins long before the first print is applied.

Why DPP?

Looking at textiles, most people don't know much beyond what's printed on the care label.

There is no dye information, which is traditionally toxic and uses and wastes a lot of water.  
No manufacturing information, where was it made, does the product contain restricted chemicals?

Yes, these can be found in clothing.

There is no recycling or repair information.
And nothing about how much carbon was produced when making it.

Up till now all that has been required are garment care labels. Wash cold, no tumble dry, fire warnings.

It’s the beginning of the end for greenwashing. “Made sustainably” is no longer going to cut it.

People, Product, Profit

This is how it should be.

We’re nowhere near, sadly. But these regulations walk us toward a circular future where ending fashion waste is an outcome.

It’s not just textiles, steel, batteries and iron are in the priority groups. If you’ve been reading this blog from the start, you’ll know Ive been bitching about low quality products built to last a year for as long as I’ve been building.


We are a long way from the kind of future I would love to see, where every product has been designed for its entire life cycle. This is where it starts.

What happens next?

Testing.
Phased rollout.

At the time of writing, the DPP regulations have only impacted very large producers.

Large producers are now prohibited from destroying their unsold textiles and footwear.  

Early days

As with all new regulations, there will probably be challenges along the way.

Like what to do with the 30% of clothing that doesn’t get sold.

You can see the changes already, a large fashion retailer here in the UK has been advertising the same green dress for the past two months. Now it’s all about re-wear, reuse, recycle.

When I started Mongrel Logic, I wasn't trying to follow regulation. I was trying to build a better way of making products. Seeing circularity become part of legislation feels like confirmation that the industry is finally moving in the right direction.

We're still at the beginning. But for the first time in a long time, it feels like fashion is being asked to think beyond the point of sale.