EU Ecolabel Criteria Extended For Textiles, Furniture, Footwear, Mattresses, And Floor Coverings

The European Commission has extended the EU Ecolabel criteria for five high volume product groups, postponing planned revisions and giving manufacturers, retailers and certification teams more certainty about the rules that apply across EU markets. Commission Decision (EU) 2026/66, adopted on 23 December 2025 and published on 6 January 2026, amends the validity periods for EU Ecolabel criteria and the related assessment and verification requirements for textile products, bed mattresses, furniture, footwear and wood, cork and bamboo based floor coverings.

New Validity Dates By Product Group

The decision sets new end dates for the current EU Ecolabel criteria: - Textile products: valid until 31 December 2028 - Footwear: valid until 31 December 2028 - Furniture: valid until 31 December 2029 - Wood, cork and bamboo based floor coverings: valid until 31 December 2029 - Bed mattresses: valid until 31 December 2030 For businesses that rely on EU Ecolabel labelling to demonstrate lower impact materials, safer chemicals and stronger lifecycle performance, the extension reduces the risk of near term changes that could disrupt product development or supplier onboarding.

Why The Commission Extended The EU Ecolabel Criteria

The Commission indicates that several criteria sets are still considered up to date and likely to remain so in the near future, so a full revision is being deferred. For textiles, the timing is linked to wider EU product policy, including work under the ecodesign framework for sustainable products, where delegated acts and sectoral rules can shape what future ecolabel criteria will need to reflect. That matters for compliance teams because EU Ecolabel criteria often pull in restrictions on hazardous substances, testing and durability requirements, and supply chain verification steps. Aligning revisions with other EU rules can reduce duplication and improve coherence, but it also means businesses should anticipate a more integrated compliance landscape.

Summary

The EU Ecolabel criteria extension keeps the current requirements in place for textiles and footwear to 2028, furniture and floor coverings to 2029, and bed mattresses to 2030. Companies using ecolabelled product strategies should use the extra time to maintain evidence files, plan recertification windows and track the next wave of EU product policy that will drive future revisions.