Export readiness · 04 of 10
4 min read
Which products this touches, and which it does not yet
Before any of this is worth your afternoon, find out whether it applies to what you make. Three questions settle it, and one of the three answers is that this is not your rule yet.
Three questions decide it
Is it apparel or a textile accessory. Is at least 80 percent of its weight textile fibre. Is it a finished product rather than fabric or yarn. The 80 percent line follows the definition already used by the Textile Labelling Regulation, so it is not a new test, just an old one doing a new job.
Fabric and yarn sit outside, and that is not a demotion
The obligation is proposed to apply to final products placed on the EU market. A weaver or a mill is not inside it. That does not put a weaver outside the story: the weaver's data is what makes an apparel brand's record worth reading, and the supplier record exists precisely to carry it. If you are a mill, the question to prepare for is your customer's, not the regulator's.
Footwear sits somewhere else
Shoes are not in the apparel scope. They are being assessed separately, and no footwear passport requirement is expected before the textile act is settled. If you make shoes, the honest answer today is that this is not yet your rule. Being told that plainly is worth more than being scored against apparel criteria and handed a gap list you cannot act on. Smart and electronic textiles, protective equipment, medical devices and toys sit outside too.
Out of scope is an answer, not a failure
There are three outcomes and none of them is a fail. In scope, and the full picture runs. Out of scope, with the reason written in one line, and you still get your buyer pack because the commercial pull arrives regardless. Or not yet certain, which is usually the 80 percent test on a mixed piece. That last one is held as an open question about the product, never as a mark against the brand.
The essentials
- Apparel or textile accessory, at least 80 percent textile by weight, and finished rather than fabric.
- Footwear is assessed separately and has no passport requirement expected yet.
- Out of scope comes with a reason, and you keep the buyer pack.
Primary sources
- Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 (Textile Labelling), Art. 9 and 12. Checked 17 August 2026
- JRC, study on digital product passport content for textile apparel products, 13 May 2026
- Commission working plan for ESPR, COM(2025) 187, 16 April 2025. Checked 17 August 2026
Criteria here are drawn from the ESPR text and the JRC preparatory study. Sources last checked 17 August 2026, and re-checked at every JRC milestone. Binding requirements for textiles begin only after the textile act is adopted and its lead time has run.
Where we stand
Mula is not affiliated with the European Commission, the JRC, or any certification body. What we do is readiness: getting your own evidence into order. We are not an economic operator, we do not register products in any system, and we never state that a product meets a rule. That judgement belongs to the party placing the product on the market and to the authorities.
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