ESPR Explained for Manufacturers

What is ESPR?

ESPR stands for the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation. It is a European Union regulation designed to make products placed on the EU market more sustainable — more durable, more repairable, more recyclable and more transparent.

ESPR builds on earlier ecodesign rules, which historically focused mainly on energy-related products such as appliances. ESPR significantly broadens this scope, extending sustainability requirements to a much wider range of product categories.

In essence, ESPR is a framework. It sets out the overall goals and mechanisms, while the detailed requirements for each specific product category are introduced gradually through separate, category-specific measures.

How ESPR relates to Digital Product Passports

The Digital Product Passport is one of the key tools introduced under ESPR. If ESPR is the regulation that sets sustainability and transparency goals, the Digital Product Passport is one of the main mechanisms for delivering transparency in practice.

By requiring structured, accessible product information, Digital Product Passports help achieve ESPR's wider aims: enabling repair, supporting reuse and recycling, allowing verification of requirements, and giving businesses and consumers reliable information.

This is why the two terms appear together so often. A manufacturer preparing for a Digital Product Passport is, in practice, preparing for one of the central requirements of ESPR.

Which products does ESPR affect?

ESPR is designed to apply across a broad range of product categories, far wider than earlier ecodesign rules. Rather than applying to everything at once, requirements are rolled out category by category over time.

Priority product groups have been identified for early action. These include categories such as textiles and several material and industrial product groups, with other categories expected to follow in later waves. The exact timing for each category is set through category-specific measures.

For manufacturers, the practical implication is clear: whether or not your specific category has detailed rules yet, ESPR signals the direction of travel. Product transparency and data readiness are becoming structural expectations across the EU market.

ESPR applies to products sold into the EU

An important point for manufacturers — including those based outside the EU — is that ESPR applies to products placed on the EU market, not only to EU-based companies.

This means that a manufacturer anywhere in the world that sells products into the EU may need to meet relevant requirements, including providing a Digital Product Passport where required. For global suppliers, this makes ESPR readiness a matter of maintaining access to the EU market.

Beyond Digital Product Passports

While Digital Product Passports receive the most attention, ESPR encompasses more than passports alone. The regulation also addresses areas such as product durability, repairability and resource efficiency, and includes measures intended to reduce waste.

For manufacturers, this reinforces a broader point: ESPR is not a single isolated requirement but a shift in how products are expected to be designed, documented and managed. Preparing product data for a Digital Product Passport is part of adapting to this wider direction.

What ESPR means for your business

For most manufacturers, the practical message of ESPR is not panic but preparation. The regulation is being rolled out over time, giving businesses a window to get ready. The manufacturers who use that window well — by organizing product data and understanding their obligations — will adapt far more smoothly than those who wait.

Because requirements arrive category by category, and because gathering and organizing data takes time, early preparation is the most practical response. Understanding ESPR is the first step; organizing your product information is the next.

In summary

ESPR — the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation — is the broader EU framework under which Digital Product Passports are being introduced. It aims to make products more durable, repairable, recyclable and transparent, and it applies to products sold into the EU regardless of where they are made. Digital Product Passports are one of its central mechanisms, but ESPR also addresses wider sustainability goals. For manufacturers, the key takeaway is that ESPR signals a structural shift toward product transparency and data readiness. The regulation rolls out category by category over time, which means early, practical preparation — especially organizing product data — is the most sensible response.

Frequently Asked Questions

Getting your products DPP-ready?

iQoxi helps manufacturers organize product data, identify gaps and prepare for Digital Product Passport requirements. Learn more on our For Manufacturers page, see the EU ESPR overview, or visit our homepage.