STEPH supports the implementation of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and promotes the wider adoption of ecodesign principles within the home textiles and footwear sectors. Coordinated by Technische Universität Berlin, the Horizon Europe project brings together 15 partners from seven European countries and aims to foster more sustainable, circular and resource-efficient products.

Developing and validating ecodesign parameters

At the core of the project is the development and validation of ecodesign parameters, testing methods and technologies for assessing sustainability, material efficiency and circularity performance.

This includes:

• analysing regulatory requirements and existing standards,
• examining market conditions and value chains,
• developing innovative scenarios for home textiles and footwear,
• validating the proposed approaches through laboratory testing, sustainability assessments and life cycle analysis, and
• assessing material efficiency, circularity performance and the avoidance of hazardous substances.

Practical application and the contribution to standardization

Building on the project results, STEPH will develop a Circular Design Toolkit together with training and guidance materials for manufacturers, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and market surveillance authorities. The project findings will also support standardization activities and policy recommendations that contribute to the implementation of the ESPR and, in turn, to the sustainable transformation of the European textile and footwear industries.

DIN contributes its expertise in standardization to the project. Relevant standards and specifications will be analysed, opportunities and needs for further standardization will be identified and, where appropriate, new standardization activities will be initiated. In addition, DIN contributes to the development of the Circular Design Toolkit, which will support manufacturers in integrating circular strategies and ecodesign requirements from the early stages of product development.

For more information please visit the project's website STEPH  or the website of the European Comission

Project duration

07/2026 – 06/2029

Project coordination

• Technische Universität Berlin (Deutschland)
• Technische Universität Berlin (Germany)

Project partners

• Q-PLAN International Advisors PC (Greece)
• Agenzia per la Promozione della Ricerca Europea (APRE) (Italy)
• Università degli Studi di Roma Unitelma Sapienza (Italy)
• Deichmann SE (Germany)
• Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) (Germany)
• DRAXIS Environmental S.A. (Greece)
• Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS) (Belgium)
• RINA Consulting S.p.A. (Italy)
• DIN German Institute for Standardization (Germany)
• White Research S.r.l. (Belgium)
• University of York (United Kingdom)
• Sea Green Tree S.L. (Spain)
• Confederación de la Industria Textil (TEXFOR) (Spain)
• RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB (Sweden)

Project funding

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. Grant Agreement ID: 101290632