Export readiness · 09 of 10
5 min read
Ten questions EU buyers ask most, and how to answer them
The regulation arrives around 2027. The questionnaire arrives this season. These are the ten that come up again and again, and the shape of an answer that ends the thread rather than starting a new one.
About the piece itself
One, full fibre composition with percentages, largest first. Two, whether there are non-textile parts of animal origin. Three, care instructions and how long you expect it to last. The first two are already required on the label under the Textile Labelling Regulation Art. 9 and 12, so the answer exists. The work is having it in one place instead of on a sample tag in a drawer.
About where it was made
Four, where the cloth was woven or knitted. Five, where it was dyed and finished. Six, where it was cut and sewn, and by whom. These are asked once per production run, not once per style. If you only know the region and not the unit, say the region and say that. A named region with a date is a usable answer. A guessed unit name is not, and it becomes a problem for both of you later.
About chemicals and recycled content
Seven, your chemical status, usually phrased as whether you hold a product safety certificate. Eight, recycled content, and whether you have the transaction certificate that backs the number if you state one. On the second, the honest split matters: a supplier saying it is recycled and a transaction certificate proving the chain are two different tiers of the same fact. Say which one you have.
About who is answerable
Nine, who is the economic operator, and do you have an EU importer or an appointed representative. Ten, sorting and disposal instructions, and whether there is a repair route. Question nine is often the one that stalls, because neither side has decided. Decide it in the purchase agreement and it never stalls again.
What a good answer looks like
Specific, dated, with the evidence attached, and honest about what you do not know. Not yet mapped is an answer a sourcing office can work with; they will tell you whether it matters for this order. A confident guess is not an answer. It becomes their problem, then it becomes yours, and it costs the relationship more than the gap ever would have.
The essentials
- Composition and animal-origin parts are already label requirements. The answers exist.
- Location questions are answered once per production run, not once per style.
- Not yet mapped is a workable answer. A confident guess is not.
Primary sources
- Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 (Textile Labelling), Art. 9 and 12. Checked 17 August 2026
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), Art. 9 and 27. Checked 17 August 2026
- JRC, study on digital product passport content for textile apparel products, 13 May 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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