Annex EU ECOLABEL CRITERIA AND ASSESSMENT AND VERIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

Criteria for awarding the EU Ecolabel to ‘footwear’:

1. 1..

   Origin of hides and skins, cotton, wood and cork, and man-made cellulose fibres;

2. 2..

   Reduction of water consumption and restriction on the tanning of hides and skins;

3. 3..

   Emissions to water from the production of leather, textiles and rubber;

4. 4..

   Volatile organic compounds (VOCs);

5. 5..

   Hazardous substances in the product and shoe components;

6. 6..

   Restricted Substances List (RSL);

7. 7..

   Parameters contributing to durability;

8. 8..

   Corporate Social Responsibility with regard to labour aspects

9. 9..

   Packaging;

10. 10..

    Information on the packaging.

Assessment and verification: The detailed assessment and verification requirements are indicated for each criterion.

Where the applicant is required to provide declarations, documentation, analyses, test reports, or other evidence to show compliance with the criteria, these may originate from the applicant or his or her supplier(s) or their suppliers, as appropriate.

Competent bodies shall preferentially recognise attestations which are issued by bodies accredited according to the relevant harmonised standard for testing and calibration laboratories and verifications by bodies that are accredited according to the relevant harmonised standard for bodies certifying products, processes and services.

Where appropriate, test methods other than those indicated for each criterion may be used if the competent body assessing the application accepts their equivalence.

Where appropriate, competent bodies may require supporting documentation and may carry out independent verifications or site visits.

The final product is one pair of shoes. Requirements are based on shoe size: 42 Paris point for men, 38 Paris point for women, 40 Paris point for unisex models, 32 Paris point for children (or the largest size in the case of sizes smaller than 32 Paris point), and 26 Paris point for children under three years of age.

Unless separately specified, the criteria apply to the final product which is composed of shoe uppers and outer soles that are made of homogeneous materials and articles that form the final product.

The applicant shall provide the bill of materials of the product, listing all homogeneous materials and articles used. The weight of each constituent material shall be expressed in grams and as a percentage of the shoe uppers and the shoe outer soles. The total final product unit weight shall be stated.

Criterion 6 refers to a Restricted Substances List which is provided in the Appendix. The list sets out the scope of restrictions and respective verification methods.