Understanding the Circularity, Regulatory and Standards Landscape in the Fashion and Clothing Industries

28th July 2025
3:00 – 4:00 PM (CET)
2.00 – 3.00 PM (BST)
Via Teams

Organised by The Centre for Sustainable Design® at UCA in association with The British Standards Institution

Introduction
Join our free online event to explore the evolving regulatory and standards landscape that is reshaping the EU’s fashion and clothing industry towards a circular economy. From the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) including Digital Product Passport (DPP) and new Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) obligations to the practical role of international standards in achieving compliance, this session will provide essential insights into the critical changes ahead and the potential impact on SMEs.

This introductory webinar is organised by The Centre for Sustainable Design® at UCA in collaboration with BSI as part of the EU-funded Just Fashion project. Just Fashion aims at accelerating climate transition in the fashion industry, by providing businesses in the partner countries with a reference framework and tools to shift their production methods, internal procedures and final products towards more sustainable models that are low carbon, circular and socially inclusive.

The webinar will be led by Professor Martin Charter and Dr Virginie Litaudon from The Centre for Sustainable Design® at UCA with input from BSI.

Objectives
The webinar will dicuss

• What the ESPR means: Overview of Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) including the development of product based regulation for clothing, the Digital Product Passport (DPP) and the ban on destroying unsold goods.
• Key EU Policies: Understand new obligations under the amendment to the Waste Framework Directive (WFD), Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and more.
• The Role of Standards: Discover the international (ISO) and European (CEN) standards that have been published and are being developed
• Practical Steps for SMEs: Gain insights specifically tailored to the challenges and opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses.

Audience
This webinar is relevant for owners, product developers, and compliance managers at in EU-based SMEs and in the fashion and clothing, as well as suppliers to the sector.

Agenda

• 2:00 – Welcome & Introduction
• 2:05 – EU Policies Impacting the Fashion & Clothing Sector
  • Context and Background
  • Overview of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) will include:
    • Ecodesign Requirements
    • Digital Product Passport (DPP)
    • Ban on the destruction of unsold consumer goods
    • Green Public Procurement (GPP)
    • Substance of Concern (SoC)
    • Implementation timeline and next steps
  • Brief overview of other key EU policies:
    • Textile Labelling Regulation (TLR)
    • Waste Framework Directive (WFD) including Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and national EPR schemes with a focus on France
    • Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR)
    • Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
    • Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD)
    • Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive
    • Green Claims Directive
• 2:35 – Overview of Relevant Standards
  • Introduction to relevant international and European standards (ISO and CEN) related to the fashion and clothing and circular economy
• 2.40 – Action Checklist for SMEs
• 2:45 – Q&A
• 3.00 – Close

Registration
The event is free of charge, but you need to register via rcarruthers@uca.ac.uk by sending your name, job title, and organisation. On receipt, you will be sent instructions to join the webinar.

Further information
For more information contact:
Ros Carruthers
The Centre for Sustainable Design ®
UCA
+44 (0) 1252 892772