A coalition of European footwear manufacturers, researchers and policymakers has launched a four-year project to build the first standardised ecodesign framework for shoes, an effort organisers say is overdue in an industry that produces nearly 24 billion pairs of footwear globally each year but still has no common definition of sustainability.
The project, named ECOSTEP, was officially launched on June 17 in Alhama de Murcia, Spain, led by CETEC, the Spanish Plastic and Footwear Technology Centre. It brings together partners from Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Portugal and Spain, and is backed by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research programme, running from June 2026 to May 2030.
The initiative aims to settle questions that have long divided the sector: how durability should be measured, what qualifies a shoe as repairable or recyclable, which indicators best capture circularity, and how brands can substantiate environmental claims without falling into greenwashing. Carmen Arias, Secretary General of the European Footwear Confederation, which is also a project partner, said the industry needs “a common language, robust methodologies and practical tools” rather than isolated sustainability initiatives.
The timing reflects mounting pressure on an industry that according to APICCAPS’ World Footwear Yearbook 2025 produced 23.9 billion pairs of shoes in 2024, up 6.9% from the prior year, with Asia accounting for 88% of that output and China alone manufacturing roughly 13 billion pairs. Global footwear revenue is estimated at close to $500 billion in 2025, according to Statista, underscoring the scale of material and emissions flows the new framework would eventually need to address.
ECOSTEP’s work plan includes five deliverables: a footwear-specific ecodesign framework setting sustainability criteria and testing methods, standardised verification approaches, a digital platform combining artificial intelligence, life-cycle assessment and Digital Product Passport functions, circular business-model guidelines covering repair and recycling, and training programmes aimed particularly at small and medium-sized manufacturers.
The project arrives as EU regulation tightens around the sector. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, which entered into force in 2024, already imposes a ban on the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear by large companies from July 19, 2026, extending to medium-sized firms in 2030, according to compliance guidance from testing firm Eurofins. Companies will also face annual disclosure requirements on discarded stock. However, footwear has so far been bundled with textiles in the Commission’s ecodesign work plan, a grouping that industry body ECOS has warned risks delaying footwear-specific rules, since apparel is likely to be prioritised first.
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The Digital Product Passport, mandated under the same regulation, is expected to apply to textiles before footwear, with a dedicated study on extending passport and ecodesign requirements to shoes not expected until the end of 2027. ECOSTEP’s digital-platform component is designed to position the sector ahead of that timeline rather than react to it once rules are finalised.
ECOSTEP is not the first EU-funded attempt to quantify footwear’s environmental footprint. The earlier LIFE GreenShoes4All project, coordinated by Portugal’s CTCP, developed a Product Environmental Footprint methodology by analysing 30 representative shoe styles, finding that material choice and weight had the most significant influence on a shoe’s environmental impact. A separate Horizon-funded project, STEPH, led by Technische Universität Berlin, is working in parallel on performance-assessment parameters spanning footwear and home textiles.
What distinguishes ECOSTEP, according to its organisers, is scope: rather than measuring the footprint of existing products, it intends to set forward-looking design criteria across durability, repairability, recyclability, chemical safety and circularity simultaneously, validated through working groups that include material suppliers, consumer organisations, standardisation bodies and behavioural scientists. Project partners argue that credibility with regulators and consumers will depend on testing methods being practical enough for manufacturers, including smaller producers, to apply without requiring substantial new infrastructure.
Organisers describe the next four years as a transition from “ambition to implementation,” with success ultimately measured by whether the European Commission’s eventual footwear-specific delegated acts converge with the criteria ECOSTEP develops, or diverge and force a second round of industry adaptation.