The Project
ECOSTEP — ECOdesign criteria for Sustainability in footwear and Testing methods for Evaluation of Performance
Context
Why Footwear? Why Now?
The footwear sector is at a turning point. As global population growth and rising incomes are projected to increase resource demand by 35–50% by 2030, pressure on materials and environmental systems is expected to intensify. In the EU alone, citizens consumed around 4 kg of footwear per person in 2022, while the footwear industry is estimated to generate approximately 700 million tonnes of CO₂ annually worldwide.
At the same time, footwear remains a particularly complex product category. Shoes often combine multiple materials, components and manufacturing processes, making durability, repairability, recyclability and other sustainability parameters difficult to assess consistently. The sector still lacks sufficiently tailored methodologies, standardised testing protocols and accessible digital tools capable of supporting reliable sustainability and circularity assessment.
The European policy, regulatory and methodological landscape is evolving rapidly to address these challenges. The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), including future Digital Product Passport (DPP) requirements, together with methodologies such as the revised MEErP and the Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs) for footwear, are creating a stronger framework for more sustainable products. However, practical implementation remains challenging, particularly for SMEs with limited technical expertise and resources.
ECOSTEP was created to help close this gap, developing footwear-specific testing and verification methods, sustainability assessment approaches and digital tools designed to support the sector in turning ecodesign requirements into practical decisions.
Our Goals
What ECOSTEP Sets Out to Achieve
ECOSTEP is a 48-month Horizon Europe project developing, testing and validating an advanced ecodesign approach for the footwear sector. Its work covers the footwear lifecycle and brings together perspectives from research, industry, standardisation, policy, consumers and the wider footwear value chain.
Engage thematic Working Groups to identify and prioritise key ecodesign parameters, assess circularity and material flows, and understand the behavioural and social drivers influencing sustainable footwear choices.
O2 — Footwear-Specific Testing & Verification Methods
Develop, validate and standardise footwear-specific testing and verification methods to reliably assess ecodesign and performance parameters and support consistent industry and regulatory application.
O3 — ECOSTEP Digital Platform & Digital Product Passport
Develop and validate an integrated digital platform combining interoperable tools, a footwear-specific Digital Product Passport and AI-based analytics to assess, predict and verify ecodesign and circularity performance.
O4 — Sustainable Design Pathways & Incentive Mechanisms
Develop a practical pathway for sustainable footwear design, combining an SSbD-aligned sustainability and circularity framework with validated guidelines, circular design strategies and incentive mechanisms.
O5 — Dissemination, Exploitation & Impact
Maximise the impact and uptake of ECOSTEP results through communication, dissemination, exploitation, capacity building and standardisation, while fostering synergies with other R&D initiatives and relevant stakeholders.
PROJECT AT A GLANCE
A 48-Month Research Endeavour
ECOSTEP is a Horizon Europe-funded Project running for 48 months. It takes a comprehensive life cycle perspective – from raw material sourcing and manufacturing through distribution, use, and end-of-life – and applies it to three footwear subcategories: open shoes (including sandals and open slippers), closed shoes (including casual, protective, and sports footwear), and boots (including casual and protective). These subcategories were selected in alignment with the recently approved PEFCR for Apparel and Footwear and the CPA/NACE codes under NACE 15.20, supporting regulatory consistency and comparability.
| Programme | Horizon Europe |
| Call | HORIZON-CL6-2025-01-CIRCBIO-02 |
| Duration | 48 months. June 2026-May 2030 |
| Coordinator | CETEC (Spain) |
| Partners | 10 organisations, 6 countries |
| Footwear scope | Open shoes · Closed shoes · Boots |
KEY EXPLOITABLE RESULTS
Five results supporting the transition to circular footwear
KER 1 — Innovative and standardised footwear-specific ecodesign framework
A stakeholder-driven framework identifying and prioritising key sustainability and circularity parameters for footwear, including durability, recyclability, repairability, chemical safety, consumer behaviour and material flows. It will be complemented by validated footwear-specific testing and verification methods to enable transparent, comparable and credible assessment of product performance against ecodesign criteria.
KER 2 — ECOSTEP Digital Platform Ecosystem
An integrated digital ecosystem expanding FootwearLCA360 and Erantum and combining them with AI-driven predictive models for durability and recyclability. The ECOSTEP Digital Platform will also integrate interoperable APIs and a first-of-its-kind sector-specific Digital Product Passport model to support traceability, transparency and policy-aligned assessment across the footwear lifecycle.
KER 3 — Circular Footwear Design Guidelines, Standards & Business Models
Validated prototypes and practical recommendations for more modular, repairable, recyclable and Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) footwear. The results will also support circular business models, including approaches such as leasing, repair networks and extended producer responsibility, while contributing to future product design, circularity and standardisation initiatives.
KER 4 — Policy-Oriented Guidelines and Incentive Recommendations
Evidence-based recommendations to support future ESPR revisions, footwear standardisation and effective incentive mechanisms. ECOSTEP will assess incentive mechanisms such as eco-labelling, VAT reductions and warranty schemes, providing relevant input for EU institutions and national authorities.
KER 5 — Ecodesign Capacity-Building and Training Programme
A two-phase capacity-building programme tailored mainly to footwear SMEs and consumers, combining technical training on ecodesign, circularity, sustainability, standardisation and Digital Product Passport concepts with consumer-oriented learning. It will deliver validated training materials and an interactive EcoDesign Engagement Toolkit featuring educational modules, simulations and DPP-based insights.
Methodology
A Multidisciplinary, Collaborative Approach
ECOSTEP operates through a structured Work Package framework, integrating research, industry, standardisation, policy and consumer perspectives across the full footwear value chain. The project combines laboratory-based testing and validation, Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), AI-driven predictive modelling, stakeholder co-creation through thematic Working Groups, and direct engagement with SMEs through a dedicated capacity-building programme.
A key part of this approach is the integration of environmental, social and economic sustainability dimensions throughout the footwear lifecycle. By combining Life Cycle Assessment, socio-economic assessment, circularity indicators and Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) principles, ECOSTEP aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how footwear design and production decisions influence sustainability and circularity.
Central to the project’s methodology is the ECOSTEP Digital Platform — an integrated digital ecosystem that brings together FootwearLCA360 and Erantum with AI-based predictive models and a sector-specific Digital Product Passport (DPP) model. The platform is designed to support automated, reliable and policy-aligned assessment of footwear ecodesign and circularity performance, while improving traceability, interoperability and access to relevant product information.
The project also operates three thematic Working Groups, bringing together industrial and business experts, policy, governance and regulatory bodies, and consumer engagement and capacity-building specialists. Their involvement will help ensure that the methods, tools and recommendations developed by ECOSTEP respond to real-world needs, incorporate different perspectives across the footwear ecosystem and remain aligned with the evolving European sustainability and regulatory landscape.
WORK PACKAGES
WP1 — Project Management · Initial
Establishes the foundational management, coordination, data, and governance structures for the ECOSTEP project. Ensures timely execution and reporting of project activities in alignment with objectives and funding requirements, implements a FAIR-aligned data management framework, and sets up the Expert Advisory Board to provide strategic guidance throughout the project’s opening phase.
WP2 — Stakeholder-Driven Comprehensive Review of the Ecodesign Framework for Footwear
Sets up thematic Working Groups to structure stakeholder engagement and guide the project’s technical and policy work. Identifies and prioritises product parameters impacting ecodesign performance across footwear subcategories, explores emerging circularity indicators, maps footwear material flows, assesses cross-sectoral effects of circularity requirements, and analyses consumer behaviour and social factors influencing sustainable footwear choices.
WP3 — Initial Design and Validation of Testing Methods for Determining and Verifying Footwear Performance Concerning Ecodesign Parameters
Develops the initial analysis for scientifically robust, footwear-specific testing methods to determine key performance parameters — identifying current methodological gaps and tailoring protocols to specific footwear needs. Produces the preliminary design and testing of standardisable methods to verify footwear performance against defined ecodesign criteria.
WP4 — Initial Development of ECOSTEP Digital Platform for Assessing and Testing Ecodesign Requirements
Expands the FootwearLCA360 and ERANTUM platforms with advanced features covering circularity, durability, sourcing, chemical safety, and recyclability. Develops APIs for seamless data exchange with external enterprise systems, produces preliminary AI models for predicting footwear durability and assessing recyclability potential, and initiates alignment of platform architecture with EU sustainability policies and Digital Product Passport requirements.
WP5 — Pathway Basis to Sustainable Design and Ecodesign Rewards in Footwear
Establishes a Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD)-compliant framework to assess the environmental and circular performance of footwear systems throughout their lifecycle. Performs a preliminary, ISO 14040/14044-compliant Life Cycle Assessment of representative footwear subcategories to establish a robust, data-driven environmental baseline for evaluating future ecodesign improvements.
WP6 — Exploitation, Dissemination, Communication and Standardisation · Initial
Defines and launches the project’s communication and dissemination strategy, including the public-facing website and tailored stakeholder messaging. Implements the first outreach campaign, builds an active online presence, identifies synergies with relevant EU projects and initiatives, delivers initial ecodesign training to footwear sector organisations, defines exploitation pathways and IP management strategies, and maps relevant standards to develop ECOSTEP’s standardisation contribution strategy.
WP7 — Project Management · Interim
Ensures effective coordination and oversight of all project activities during the interim phase, following up on data management processes to guarantee data integrity, accessibility, and compliance with FAIR principles. Leverages Expert Advisory Board feedback to enhance the quality and relevance of results delivered at mid-project.
WP8 — Final Design and Validation of Testing Methods for Determining and Verifying Footwear Performance Concerning Ecodesign Parameters
Delivers the final, scientifically robust testing methods for determining key footwear performance parameters, including standardisable verification protocols. Validates testing methods using digital tools to ensure reliability, repeatability, and industry readiness, and produces practical, user-friendly training materials to enable footwear industry actors to apply the methods consistently in alignment with ecodesign and regulatory goals.
WP9 — Development of ECOSTEP Digital Platform for Assessing and Testing Ecodesign Requirements
Delivers the final integration of the FootwearLCA360 and Erantum platforms and develops the Digital Product Passport module for the footwear sector. Integrates AI models for durability prediction and recyclability assessment, aligns platform architecture and ecodesign indicators with EU sustainability policies and DPP requirements, and produces the preliminary integration and validation of the full ECOSTEP Digital Platform.
WP10 — Pathway to Sustainable Design and Ecodesign Rewards in Footwear
Performs a detailed Life Cycle Inventory and Impact Assessment to quantify the environmental impacts of representative footwear products. Assesses economic and social feasibility through Life Cycle Costing and Job Creation Potential analyses, and formulates a preliminary measurement system to evaluate circularity performance and product safety — integrating circular strategies, recycling pathways, Design for Recycling principles, and SSbD-aligned toxicity screening.
WP11 — Exploitation, Dissemination, Communication and Standardisation · Interim
Enhances ECOSTEP’s visibility and impact through outreach, media, events, and scientific dissemination. Fosters sustained collaboration with EU projects and stakeholders, equips SMEs with practical knowledge and tools to meet ecodesign requirements through advanced training and tailored support, updates exploitation and marketing plans, and contributes ECOSTEP insights to relevant standardisation committees to influence new or updated footwear standards.
WP12 — Project Management · Final
Ensures effective coordination and oversight of all project activities through to completion, overseeing the successful delivery and reporting of all final deliverables. Finalises and validates all data management processes in full compliance with FAIR principles, and draws on Expert Advisory Board feedback to consolidate the quality and long-term sustainability of ECOSTEP results.
WP13 — Final Development of ECOSTEP Digital Platform for Assessing and Testing Ecodesign Requirements
Finalises the integration and validation of the ECOSTEP Digital Platform by deploying all developed tools within a single interoperable ecosystem and verifying their performance, consistency, and regulatory relevance. Ensures effective deployment and stakeholder-validated usability of the platform, supported by training materials for broad and lasting industry adoption.
WP14 — Final Pathway Assessment to Sustainable Design and Ecodesign Rewards in Footwear
Assesses the social and economic feasibility of footwear products, evaluating economic viability and employment effects to support informed decision-making for sustainable market deployment. Formulates practical strategies for improving circularity and sustainability in the sector, validates circular business model strategies, and identifies and recommends effective policy incentives and market mechanisms to support the adoption of circular and durable design strategies across the EU.
WP15 — Exploitation, Dissemination, Communication and Standardisation · Final
Delivers the final phase of ECOSTEP’s dissemination and communication activities across outreach, media, events, and scientific channels. Consolidates long-term collaboration with EU projects and stakeholders, equips SMEs with the knowledge and tools to sustain ecodesign compliance beyond the project lifetime, finalises exploitation and marketing strategies for IP use and market uptake, and delivers ECOSTEP’s final contributions to footwear standardisation processes to ensure lasting regulatory influence.