Footwear regulations by market
28 obligations that name footwear in their scope, from 10 instruments across 4 markets, soonest date first, each stating how firm its date actually is.
The instruments (10)
| Instrument | Citation | Market | Made by | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark PFAS clothing ban | BEK nr 464 af 02/05/2025 | DK | Ministry of Environment and Gender Equality (Denmark); supervision by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency | In force |
| Empowering Consumers Directive | Directive (EU) 2024/825 | EU | European Commission | In force |
| ESPR | Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 | EU | European Commission | In force |
| EU PFHxA restriction | Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/2462 | EU | European Commission | In force |
| EUDR | Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/3234 | EU | European Commission | In force |
| France PFAS law | Loi n° 2025-188 du 27 février 2025 | FR | Ministry of Ecological Transition (France) | In force |
| PPE Regulation | Regulation (EU) 2016/425 | EU | European Parliament and Council | In force |
| REACH | Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 | EU | European Chemicals Agency | In force |
| UFLPA | Public Law 117-78 | US | U.S. Customs and Border Protection | In force |
| US Leather Guides | 16 CFR Part 24 | US | Federal Trade Commission | In force |
Later 1
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ESPR Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 EU
From 19 July 2030 the prohibition on destroying unsold consumer products listed in Annex VII extends to medium-sized enterprises. Until that date it binds neither them nor micro and small enterprises, which the prohibition never reaches.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
Held as its own row rather than a sentence inside the 2026 duty, so that a medium-sized enterprise filtering the register finds it and so that the instrument reports partial rather than full legal force. A date four years out is the kind that gets repeated without its marker.
Already in force 14
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PPE Regulation Regulation (EU) 2016/425 EU
Protective clothing must meet the essential health and safety requirements, carry CE marking, and — for Category II and III — pass a conformity assessment involving a notified body.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
Article 47, quoted: "This Regulation shall apply from 21 April 2018". The category decides the burden and it is the step mills most often get wrong: Category I is self-declared, Category III — protection against mortal danger — requires a notified body for both the type examination and ongoing production surveillance. High-visibility clothing, cut protection and flame-retardant workwear are not Category I.
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EUDR Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/3234 EU
Relevant commodities and relevant products may not be placed or made available on the market, or exported, unless all three conditions are met: they are deforestation-free; they were produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production; and they are covered by a due diligence statement.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
Three cumulative conditions, and the third is a document rather than a property of the goods — a genuinely deforestation-free hide still fails Article 3 without a due diligence statement. The prohibition reaches EXPORT as well as placing on the market, so an EU tannery shipping out is inside it. Textiles enter through cattle: leather is a relevant product derived from a relevant commodity. Nothing in this Regulation says "textile", "fabric" or "fibre", so it will not be found by searching for the material.
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EUDR Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/3234 EU
Operators must exercise due diligence in accordance with Article 8 before placing relevant products on the market or exporting them, in order to prove compliance with Article 3, and may not place them on the market or export them without prior submission of a due diligence statement.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
The statement is submitted BEFORE the goods move, not compiled afterwards, which makes this a gating step in the shipping process rather than a record-keeping duty. Due diligence must prove compliance, so the burden sits with the operator rather than with an enforcement authority.
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EUDR Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/3234 EU
Articles 3 to 13, 16 to 24, and 26, 31 and 32 apply from 30 December 2025. For operators that were established as micro-undertakings or small undertakings as at 31 December 2020 under Article 3(1) or (2) of Directive 2013/34/EU, those Articles apply from 30 June 2026, except as regards products covered in the Annex to Regulation (EU) No 995/2010.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
The deferral is keyed to what the operator WAS on 31 December 2020, not to what it is today — a business that has since grown past the small-undertaking thresholds still takes the June 2026 date, and one that has since shrunk does not. Anyone reading the unamended Regulation gets dates twelve months early.
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France PFAS law Loi n° 2025-188 du 27 février 2025 FR
From 1 January 2026 the manufacture, import, export and placing on the market, paid or free, of clothing textiles, footwear, and waterproofing agents for clothing textiles and footwear intended for consumers that contain PFAS is prohibited, except clothing and footwear designed for the protection and safety of persons, in particular for national defence or civil security missions.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
The thresholds below which the ban does not apply are set by decree, art. D525-4: 25 ppb for any single PFAS measured by targeted analysis, excluding polymers; 250 ppb for the sum of PFAS, where relevant after degradation of precursors, excluding polymers; and 50 ppm for PFAS including polymers. Above 50 mg/kg total fluorine, the operator must demonstrate on request whether the fluorine comes from PFAS. Art. D525-2 exempts personal protective equipment under Regulation (EU) 2016/425, protective and combat equipment for the armed forces and for internal and civil security, re-proofing agents for that equipment, and clothing and footwear with at least 20% recycled material from post-consumer waste, where PFAS is tolerated only in proportion to the recycled fraction. Products made before 1 January 2026 may be placed on the market or exported for at most twelve months (art. 2 of the law). The text defines neither "textile d'habillement" nor whether the limits apply per article or per material. Because export is named, the ban reaches French operators shipping out of France as well as goods entering it.
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Denmark PFAS clothing ban BEK nr 464 af 02/05/2025 DK
From 1 July 2026 businesses may not import or sell clothing or footwear for private use in which at least one component article contains total fluorine of 50 mg F/kg or more, nor waterproofing agents for such clothing or footwear at or above the same level. Private persons may not import them either.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
The measure is total fluorine, not a list of PFAS, and it is applied to each component article of the garment. § 6(3) allows sale from existing business stock until 1 January 2027. § 3(3) exempts reuse and recycling of clothing and footwear and certain personal protective equipment, and § 2 leaves out PFAS already regulated under REACH or the POPs Regulation. The order provides that fluorine shown to come from a substance that is not PFAS does not count, and the Danish Environmental Protection Agency may ask for documentation of that.
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ESPR Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 EU
From 19 July 2026 the destruction of unsold consumer products listed in Annex VII is prohibited. The prohibition does not apply to micro and small enterprises, and reaches medium-sized enterprises only from 19 July 2030. Annex VII lists apparel and clothing accessories by commodity code — 4203, 61, 62, 6504 and 6505 — and footwear under 6401 to 6405.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
Annex VII is a commodity-code list and the codes decide, not the word "textiles". Home textiles — bed linen, curtains, towels, CN 63 — are NOT listed, so the prohibition does not reach them. The enterprise-size staging is the other half: for a medium-sized enterprise this is a 2030 duty, and for a micro or small one it is not a duty at all.
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ESPR Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 EU
An economic operator not caught by the prohibition must not destroy unsold consumer products supplied to it for the purpose of circumventing that prohibition.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
This is what stops the exemptions being used as a disposal route: a small enterprise is outside the prohibition but inside this, so stock cannot be moved down the size ladder to be destroyed lawfully. The test is purpose, which makes it a question about arrangements rather than about who holds the goods.
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Empowering Consumers Directive Directive (EU) 2024/825 EU
Displaying a sustainability label that is not based on a certification scheme, or not established by public authorities, is prohibited.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
Reaches self-declared marks and own-brand sustainability badges, which are neither certification schemes nor established by public authorities. Annex I to Directive 2005/29/EC is the list of practices considered unfair in ALL circumstances, so this needs no proof of consumer detriment and no case-by-case assessment.
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Empowering Consumers Directive Directive (EU) 2024/825 EU
Making a generic environmental claim for which the trader cannot demonstrate recognised excellent environmental performance relevant to the claim is prohibited.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
A claim stops being generic when its specification is given in clear and prominent terms ON THE SAME MEDIUM. The recitals give the worked contrast: "climate-friendly packaging" is generic, while "100 % of energy used to produce this packaging comes from renewable sources" is specific and outside this point. Recital examples of generic claims include eco-friendly, green, ecological, climate friendly, carbon friendly, biodegradable and biobased. Annex I to Directive 2005/29/EC is the list of practices considered unfair in ALL circumstances, so this needs no proof of consumer detriment and no case-by-case assessment.
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Empowering Consumers Directive Directive (EU) 2024/825 EU
Making an environmental claim about the entire product, or about the trader's entire business, when it concerns only a certain aspect of the product or a specific activity of the business, is prohibited.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
This is the scope-widening prohibition, and it is the one a textile supply chain trips over most naturally: an organic-cotton face fabric does not license a claim about the garment, and a certified dyehouse does not license a claim about the business. The claim must be no wider than the thing it rests on. Annex I to Directive 2005/29/EC is the list of practices considered unfair in ALL circumstances, so this needs no proof of consumer detriment and no case-by-case assessment.
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Empowering Consumers Directive Directive (EU) 2024/825 EU
Claiming, based on the offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions, that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, is prohibited.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
The phrase "carbon neutral" appears NOWHERE in this Directive — zero occurrences. The point is written around the mechanism, not the wording: what is banned is a neutral, REDUCED or positive impact claim that rests on offsetting. So avoiding the popular phrase does not avoid the prohibition, and a reduction claim resting on measured abatement rather than offsets is not caught by it. Both errors follow from searching the text for the phrase instead of the mechanism. Annex I to Directive 2005/29/EC is the list of practices considered unfair in ALL circumstances, so this needs no proof of consumer detriment and no case-by-case assessment.
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Empowering Consumers Directive Directive (EU) 2024/825 EU
Presenting requirements imposed by law on all products within the relevant product category on the Union market as a distinctive feature of the trader's offer is prohibited.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
Directly relevant to textiles, where compliance is routinely marketed as virtue: "azo-free", "nickel-safe", "no restricted substances" describe obedience to REACH Annex XVII, which binds every competitor equally. Presenting that as a distinctive feature of the offer is the prohibited act.
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EU PFHxA restriction Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/2462 EU
From 10 October 2026, textiles, leather, furs and hides in clothing and related accessories for the general public, footwear for the general public, and mixtures for the general public may not be placed on the market or used at or above 25 ppb for the sum of PFHxA and its salts, or 1,000 ppb for the sum of PFHxA-related substances, measured in homogeneous material.
Scheduled Adopted, dates set, not yet in force
The limit is per homogeneous material, so a garment is measured layer by layer and trim by trim, not as a whole. "Mixtures for the general public" brings consumer waterproofing sprays in on the same date. Paragraph 3 exempts personal protective equipment in risk category III under Regulation (EU) 2016/425 (points (a), (c) to (f), (h) and (l) of its Annex I), medical devices, in vitro diagnostic devices and construction textiles. Paragraph 7 exempts articles placed on the market before 10 October 2026. No test method is named; recital 7 says standard methods are still to be developed. The scope wording is "for the general public", so products supplied only to professionals fall outside it.
No date set 13
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no date set
US Leather Guides 16 CFR Part 24 US
These Guides apply to the manufacture, sale, distribution, marketing or advertising of all kinds of leather or simulated-leather industry products, enumerated in § 24.0(a) — including trunks, suitcases, travelling bags, brief cases, billfolds, wallets, key cases, coin purses, handbags, shoulder bags, purses, footwear, and belts when not sold as part of a garment, and similar articles.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
Scope is an enumerated list, and belts carry a condition on their face: in scope only "when not sold as part of a garment". The same belt is inside these Guides sold alone and outside them supplied with a coat. Advertising is named alongside manufacture and sale, so the Guides reach marketing copy directly.
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no date set
US Leather Guides 16 CFR Part 24 US
These Guides are administrative interpretations of laws administered by the Federal Trade Commission, addressing the application of section 5 of the FTC Act to industry products, and providing the basis for voluntary compliance. Conduct inconsistent with the positions articulated in the Guides may result in corrective action by the Commission under section 5.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
Recorded as its own obligation because the legal character of this Part decides what a supplier is arguing about. There is no offence of breaching a Guide. The exposure is section 5 of the FTC Act, and the Guides are the Commission's published view of what section 5 means for these products.
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no date set
US Leather Guides 16 CFR Part 24 US
It is unfair or deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, the kind, grade, quality, quantity, material content, thickness, finish, serviceability, durability, price, origin, size, weight, ease of cleaning, construction, manufacture, processing, distribution, or any other material aspect of an industry product.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
The list is long and closes with "any other material aspect", so it is illustrative rather than exhaustive. "Directly or by implication" is what reaches imagery, styling and adjacency rather than only stated claims — a product photographed to read as leather can misrepresent without a word being written.
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no date set
US Leather Guides 16 CFR Part 24 US
It is unfair or deceptive to misrepresent the composition of any industry product or part of it, and to use the unqualified term "leather", or other unqualified terms suggestive of leather, unless the product so described is composed in all substantial parts of leather. Where all or part of a product is made of non-leather material that appears to be leather, that fact or the general nature of the material should be disclosed — for example "Not leather", "Imitation leather", "Simulated leather", "Vinyl", "Vinyl coated fabric" or "Plastic".
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
The test is "in all substantial parts", not a majority and not a marketing judgement. For footwear the Guides define three parts in a footnote — the upper, the lining and sock, and the outersole — so a shoe with a leather upper and a synthetic lining does not carry the unqualified term. The disclosure examples are given in the text, which makes them the safe wordings rather than one option among many.
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no date set
REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 EU
A substance on its own, in a mixture or in an article for which Annex XVII contains a restriction may not be manufactured, placed on the market or used unless it complies with the conditions of that restriction. The prohibition does not apply to manufacture, placing on the market or use in scientific research and development, and Annex XVII itself specifies where a restriction does not apply to product and process orientated research and development, with the maximum quantity exempted.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
The restriction reaches a substance IN AN ARTICLE, not only a substance sold as such — which is what puts a finished garment inside it. Annex XVII is the operative list and it moves independently of this Article; entries relevant to textiles include azo dyes, chromium VI in leather, nickel release, and the restriction on synthetic polymer microparticles added by Regulation (EU) 2023/2055. This record does not enumerate Annex XVII, so which entries bind a given product is a question about that Annex on the day.
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no date set
REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 EU
Any supplier of an article containing a candidate-list substance above 0,1 % weight by weight must provide the RECIPIENT of the article with sufficient information, available to the supplier, to allow safe use of the article — including, as a minimum, the name of that substance.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
This limb runs down the supply chain and is not triggered by any request — it is owed automatically to the recipient of the article. "Available to the supplier" bounds it: the duty is to pass on what is held, which is why it fails in practice at the point where nobody upstream was asked. The trigger is a substance meeting the Article 57 criteria AND identified under Article 59(1) — that is, on the candidate list — above 0,1 % w/w. The threshold is per article, which for a garment means the component rather than the finished product: a zip puller, a coating, a print.
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no date set
REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 EU
On request by a consumer, any supplier of an article containing a candidate-list substance above 0,1 % weight by weight must provide that consumer with sufficient information, available to the supplier, to allow safe use of the article — including at minimum the substance name — free of charge and within 45 days of receiving the request.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
Recorded separately from 33(1) because the trigger and the timing both differ: this one is owed to a CONSUMER, only on request, free of charge, and carries the only deadline in the Article — 45 days. A retailer with no answer ready has 45 days to obtain one from a supply chain that may never have been asked. The trigger is a substance meeting the Article 57 criteria AND identified under Article 59(1) — that is, on the candidate list — above 0,1 % w/w. The threshold is per article, which for a garment means the component rather than the finished product: a zip puller, a coating, a print.
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no date set
UFLPA Public Law 117-78 US
U.S. Customs and Border Protection applies a presumption that goods, wares, articles and merchandise mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, or produced by an entity on a list required by section 2(d)(2)(B), are prohibited from importation under section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930 and are not entitled to entry at any port of the United States.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
"Wholly or in part" is the phrase that decides scope for textiles: the presumption attaches to the INPUT, so a garment cut and sewn in a third country from Xinjiang cotton is within it. Last place of substantial transformation does not clear the presumption. It also reaches goods produced by a listed entity wherever located, which is a separate trigger from geography.
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no date set
UFLPA Public Law 117-78 US
The Commissioner applies the presumption unless satisfied that the importer of record has both fully complied with the guidance issued under section 2(d)(6) and any implementing regulations, and completely and substantively responded to all inquiries for information submitted by the Commissioner — and unless the importer shows, by clear and convincing evidence, that the goods were not mined, produced or manufactured wholly or in part with forced labour.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
Three tests, all required, and they are of different kinds. Two are about conduct — following the guidance, answering CBP fully — and the third is evidentiary. An importer that has done everything procedurally right still fails without clear and convincing evidence, which is a higher standard than the preponderance ordinarily applied in customs matters. The burden sits with the importer throughout.
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no date set
UFLPA Public Law 117-78 US
Not later than 30 days after determining that an exception applies, the Commissioner must submit to the appropriate congressional committees, and make available to the public, a report identifying the good and the evidence considered.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
Recorded because it changes what seeking an exception costs. The duty is on the Commissioner rather than the importer, but its effect lands on the importer: an exception is a public document naming the good and the evidence relied on. A supplier weighing whether to contest a detention is weighing publication of its own supply-chain evidence.
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no date set
ESPR Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 EU
Economic operators that discard unsold consumer products, directly or on their behalf, must disclose annually: the number and weight discarded per year by product type or category; the reasons for discarding and any derogation relied on; the proportion delivered to preparing for reuse (including refurbishment and remanufacturing), recycling, other recovery including energy recovery, and disposal, in accordance with the waste hierarchy; and the measures taken and planned to prevent destruction of unsold consumer products. The disclosure must be clear, visible and on at least an easily accessible page of the operator's website.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
The disclosure duty is separate from the prohibition and is triggered by discarding, not by being caught by the ban — so it can bind an operator whose products are not in Annex VII at all. The publication route is prescribed: an easily accessible page of the website, not a figure supplied on request.
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no date set
ESPR Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 EU
Where information requirements so provide, a product may only be placed on the market or put into service if a digital product passport is available in accordance with the applicable delegated acts adopted under Article 4 and with Articles 10 and 11, and the data in that passport must be accurate, complete and up to date.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
Conditional, and it stays conditional: the duty bites only through a delegated act adopted under Article 4 for a given product group. NO DELEGATED ACT FOR TEXTILES EXISTS, so there is no textile passport requirement in force and no textile field list — anything published as one is a forecast. What is settled is the mechanism and the accuracy standard, not the content.
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no date set
ESPR Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 EU
The delegated acts establishing a digital product passport for a product group must specify, as appropriate: the data to be included pursuant to Annex III; the data carriers to be used; the layout and positioning of the carrier; whether the passport is at model, batch or item level; how it is made accessible to customers before they are bound by a contract for sale, hire or hire purchase, including in distance selling; which actors have access to which data; and which actors are to create the passport.
Confirmed In force, dates fixed in published law
This is the list of things that are NOT yet decided for textiles, which is more useful to a supplier than a forecast of what will be. Model, batch or item level in particular changes what a manufacturer has to be able to trace, and it is left to the delegated act.