STEPH

STEPH is a three-year multidisciplinary and multi-actor collaborative project, involving 15 partners across seven European countries. Its overall aim is to support the implementation of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and accelerate the wider adoption of ecodesign principles in the home textiles and footwear product groups.

At the core of STEPH is the development and validation of at least 20 ecodesign parameters and 10 testing methods and technologies. The project will engage at least 800 product manufacturers, 10 market surveillance authorities and 3,000 stakeholders, ensuring broad dissemination of its impacts.

The project begins by analysing regulations, methodologies and framework conditions aligned with ESPR principles, involving experts and specialised stakeholders. It then conducts demand-driven analyses of markets, value chains, consumer preferences and LCI databases to identify appropriate technologies and ecodesign parameters, and to define four innovative scenarios for each product group.

To validate these scenarios, STEPH will perform a number of assessments and laboratory tests focused on material efficiency, circularity performance and the elimination of hazardous substances. It will also apply life cycle assessments, aiming for a minimum 15–20% improved impact of its methods and scenarios for the environment, economy and society.

Based on these results, STEPH will develop a circular design toolkit along with training materials to support capacity building activities among product manufacturers, SMEs and market surveillance authorities. The findings of STEPH will inform standardisation outputs and shape the design of incentive-based instruments and policy recommendations aligned with EU and international frameworks. This will reinforce the implementation of ESPR and promote the broader adoption of ecodesign practices across Europe.