COMPLIANCE DEEP DIVE
Selling Uniforms and Workwear to Public Buyers: ESPR Article 65, the Planned EU Green Procurement Rules for Apparel, and How the DPP Could Become Tender Evidence
As of 23 October 2026, no EU rule obliges public buyers to apply green requirements when they buy clothing. ESPR Article 65 is in force but needs a textile delegated act and a procurement implementing act; neither exists yet. The Commission plans the latter for Q4 2027, and a proposal, not adopted, would replace Article 65.
Green tender rules: timeline
- ESPR in force18 July 2024Incl. Article 65
- Procurement Act9 September 2026Proposed
- Textile actQ3–Q4 2027Indicative
- Implementing actQ4 2027Planned
- Article 65 deletedTwo years after the Act’s entry into forceIf adopted as proposed
Today: no binding EU green procurement rules for apparel
What you need to know
- 1
Article 65 has nothing to attach to yet.
It obliges public buyers to apply “minimum requirements” only for products covered by an ESPR delegated act, and only once the Commission sets them by implementing act. Neither exists for textiles. §1
- 2
What an Article 65 act would set.
Specifications, award criteria, contract performance conditions or targets. Green award criteria get, where appropriate, a minimum weighting of between 15 % and 30 %; targets require at least 50 % of procurement, per buyer or at aggregated national level, for the most environmentally sustainable products (Art. 65(3)). §2
- 3
Uniforms solely for defence or national security are out.
Products whose sole purpose is to serve defence or national security are excluded from ESPR product groups (Art. 5(5)). Police uniforms are not named: their status is open, as is that of personal protective equipment. §2
- 4
Implementing act: planned, no draft published.
Have your say 19133 plans adoption of an implementing regulation for apparel textiles in Q4 2027. §3
- 5
A proposal would replace Article 65.
The Public Procurement Act proposal, COM(2026) 590, would delete Article 65 and put a general duty in its Article 54, plus a Commission power to make characteristics mandatory by delegated act, with no 15 % to 30 % weighting and no 50 % target. §4
- 6
Evidence today: labels, tests, certificates.
Under Directive 2014/24/EU, buyers may require a label (under conditions, accepting equivalents), or a test report or certificate from a conformity assessment body (Arts. 43–44); a technical dossier is a fallback. The Directive does not mention the passport. The proposal would let buyers ask for a declaration of conformity through it (Art. 92(1)). The 2017 EU GPP criteria for textiles are voluntary. §5
What to do now
Map your public customers.
What they buy: uniforms, workwear, PPE, accessories, or services such as laundry and take-back. §6
Collect the evidence buyers accept today.
Labels, test reports and certificates; a technical dossier as fallback. §6
Watch the draft act and the proposal.
Have your say 19133 for the draft act; COM(2026) 590 in Parliament. §6
Status of the guide: 23 October 2026. Based on ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781), Articles 5(5) and 65; Directive 2014/24/EU, Articles 43 and 44; proposal COM(2026) 590 (not adopted); Have your say 19133. A simplified summary: the full guide below and the EU texts are authoritative. Not legal advice.
Everything below is the complete, sourced guide. ↑ Back to the short version
If you supply uniforms, workwear or other textiles to public buyers, the EU rules that could make green criteria mandatory in your tenders are written but not yet switched on. ESPR Article 65 needs a textile delegated act and a procurement implementing act; the Commission plans the latter for the fourth quarter of 2027, and a proposal of September 2026 would replace Article 65 altogether.
Below: Article 65 word for word, what is planned, what the proposed Public Procurement Act would change, how buyers check evidence today and what the digital product passport could add. Status as of 23 October 2026.
None
Binding EU green-procurement requirements for apparel as of 23 October 2026: Article 65 has neither a textile delegated act nor an implementing act to apply.
15–30 %
Minimum weight of green award criteria under ESPR Article 65(3), where appropriate, once an implementing act sets them.
50 %
Minimum share of procurement that Article 65 targets would reserve for the most environmentally sustainable products.
Q4 2027
Planned Commission adoption of the procurement implementing act for apparel textiles (Have your say 19133; a plan, not law).
1. The short answer
As of 23 October 2026, no EU rule obliges public buyers to apply green requirements when they buy clothing. ESPR Article 65 does oblige contracting authorities and contracting entities to apply minimum requirements, but only "for the purchase of products covered by delegated acts adopted pursuant to Article 4" (or for works or services that use those products), and only once the Commission has set those requirements by implementing act. Neither exists for textiles: the Publications Office records, searched on 23 October 2026, show no ESPR delegated act for textiles and no procurement implementing act under Article 65.
| Stage | What applies to apparel | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Today | Article 65 is in force but has nothing to attach to for textiles. Buyers can use the 2017 EU GPP criteria for textile products and services; evidence follows Directive 2014/24/EU (labels, test reports, certificates, a technical dossier). | Law without a textile act; the criteria are voluntary |
| Planned | An ESPR delegated act for textiles (indicative Q3–Q4 2027; Q4 2027 on the Commission's textile-apparel page) and a procurement implementing act for apparel textiles (Have your say 19133: adoption planned for the fourth quarter of 2027). | Plan |
| Proposed | The Public Procurement Act, COM(2026) 590, would delete Article 65, replace it with Article 54 and let buyers ask for a declaration of conformity through the passport (Article 92(1)). | Proposal, not adopted |
Tenders are therefore judged today on the criteria each buyer chooses, within any national green-procurement rules (ESPR recital 101 says Member States should not be precluded from keeping or introducing them), and on the evidence the procurement directives allow. We give no tender- or product-specific advice; the steps in section 6 are general.
2. ESPR Article 65: what the law already says
Article 65 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, headed ‘Green public procurement’, has three paragraphs. Paragraph 1 obliges contracting authorities and contracting entities, in compliance with Directive 2014/24/EU or 2014/25/EU, to award public contracts that comply with the ‘minimum requirements’, for purchases of the products and also "for works or services where those products are used for activities constituting the subject matter of those contracts". Paragraph 2 makes the requirements conditional: they are set where appropriate, weighing the value and volume of public contracts and whether buyers can buy more sustainable products "without entailing disproportionate costs".
Paragraph 3 empowers the Commission to set, by means of implementing acts, "the minimum requirements in the form of technical specifications, award criteria, contract performance conditions or targets". Those acts are adopted under the "examination procedure referred to in Article 73(3)". The rest of paragraph 3 fixes their content:
| Element | Article 65(3), verbatim | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Set "in relation to the product aspects addressed in the delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 4" (second subparagraph) | Only what the textile delegated act regulates can be required: no textile act, no textile requirements |
| Benchmark | Based on the "two highest performance classes, the highest scores or, when not available, on the best possible performance levels" (third subparagraph) | The delegated act sets classes of performance where appropriate (Article 7(4)); the requirements point to the top of that scale |
| Award criteria | "Award criteria shall, where appropriate, have a minimum weighting of between 15 % and 30 % in the awarding process" (fourth subparagraph) | A floor for the weight of green award criteria, qualified by ‘where appropriate’ |
| Targets | "Targets shall require, on an annual or multiannual basis, a minimum percentage of 50 % of procurement conducted at the level of contracting authorities or contracting entities, or at an aggregated national level, of the most environmentally sustainable products" (fifth subparagraph, as corrected) | A minimum share of procurement, per buyer or at aggregated national level, going to the most sustainable products |
The fifth subparagraph is quoted as corrected on 28 April 2025 (OJ L, 2025/90356, point 4): the corrigendum deleted the closing words "as referred to in the fourth subparagraph", and the German, French, Spanish, Italian and Danish versions are corrected the same way. Recital 100, which explains but does not bind, adds that these are minimum requirements, so contracting authorities and contracting entities "should be able to set additional and more demanding requirements". Its 20 % to 30 % figure is only an example for recycled content; the article's range is 15 % to 30 %.
Article 64(1) concerns Member State incentives, not procurement: "those incentives shall be aimed at the highest two classes of performance that are populated at Union level or, where relevant, at products with an EU Ecolabel". Unlike Article 65(3), it adds ‘populated at Union level’ and the EU Ecolabel as an alternative.
Article 5(5) sets a hard limit on scope: "Products whose sole purpose is to serve defence or national security shall be excluded from product groups". Uniforms whose sole purpose is to serve defence or national security are therefore outside ESPR product groups and outside Article 65. Police uniforms are not named, and no source we found decides whether a given police item serves national security, so we treat them as neither in nor out of scope. ESPR does not settle the status of personal protective equipment, and the scope of the textile act has not been adopted.
Article 74(3) requires Member States to be able to impose, at least, fines and "time-limited exclusion from public procurement procedures". That is a penalty Member States provide for, not a power of individual buyers; see our guide What Happens If You Don't Comply? ESPR/DPP Penalties & Market Surveillance.
3. The planned textile procurement act
The Commission has opened an initiative for this step. Have your say initiative 19133, "Textiles – criteria for sustainability in public procurement" (Ares(2026)8097757, published on 28 August 2026), announces an implementing regulation based on ESPR Article 65, led by the Directorate-General for Environment. Its summary says it considers harmonised green public-procurement requirements under the ESPR to "promote the sustainable and circular procurement of apparel textiles" and to "create lead markets for sustainable textile products".
As of 23 October 2026, the page shows feedback on the draft act as upcoming and Commission adoption planned for the fourth quarter of 2027. No draft and no documents are published, so the content of the act is not known. The page speaks of apparel textiles; it does not mention uniforms, workwear or personal protective equipment.
The timing follows a Commission commitment, not a legal rule. In the ESPR Working Plan 2025–2030 (COM(2025) 187, section 3.4), the Commission says it will assess the scope to set minimum procurement requirements "for the products prioritised in the working plan" together with the assessment of their ecodesign requirements, because "the product aspects covered in both acts must be the same", and will "run the two adoption procedures in parallel". This covers all prioritised products, not textiles specifically; the table in section 2.2.1 of the plan gives textiles/apparel a JRC ranking of 1st among the new final products (iron and steel is 1st among intermediate products), with an indicative adoption timeline of 2027.
For the textile delegated act itself, the Commission's Digital Product Passport page (modified 22 October 2026, checked on 23 October 2026) still gives Q3–Q4 2027 in an indicative timeline. Its textile-apparel page (modified 7 August 2026) reads "Q4 2027: Planned adoption of the ESPR Delegated Act for textiles", with the note "Implementation timelines may evolve as legislative and technical work progresses". Neither page mentions public procurement. The two plans line up on paper, but no joint date is confirmed.
4. The proposed Public Procurement Act: what would change
On 9 September 2026 the Commission proposed a Public Procurement Act, COM(2026) 590 (procedure 2026/0265(COD)), which would repeal Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU. It is a proposal, in English only. On 23 October 2026 the Legislative Observatory showed "Preparatory phase in Parliament", with the committee referral "Pending final decision on the referral". Feedback on Have your say (initiative 15492) is open: the end date shown on 23 October 2026 was 18 December 2026 (midnight Brussels time), and the period "is being extended every day until this adopted proposal is available in all EU languages", so check the page.
The explanatory memorandum says the proposal repeals the sectoral green-procurement empowerments and "replaces them with a single, horizontal empowerment": Article 54. Under Article 54(1), public buyers purchasing products subject to the acts listed in Annex VII, which include the ESPR (point 2), would have to require "such environmental characteristics as they consider appropriate for the procurement in question", expressed in terms of the "classes or levels of performance, thresholds, environmental aspects or environmental sustainability requirements" laid down in those acts. Under Article 54(2), the Commission could make characteristics mandatory by delegated act where there is a "real risk of fragmentation of the internal market" or a "need to foster the demand for products referred to in the Union legal acts listed in Annex VII". Under Article 54(3), "Public buyers may decide not to require the characteristics specified in delegated acts adopted pursuant to paragraph 2" in two cases: a single possible supplier with no reasonable alternative, or disproportionate costs or technical incompatibility.
| Element | ESPR Article 65 (law) | Proposal Article 54 (not adopted) |
|---|---|---|
| Instrument | Implementing acts, examination procedure | A general duty with buyer discretion (paragraph 1); delegated acts under Article 141 (paragraph 2) |
| Forms | Technical specifications, award criteria, contract performance conditions or targets | Specifications, award criteria or conditions for the performance of contracts; no targets |
| Benchmark | Two highest performance classes, highest scores or best possible performance levels | Classes or levels of performance, thresholds, environmental aspects or sustainability requirements laid down in the listed acts |
| Weight of green award criteria | Between 15 % and 30 %, where appropriate | None in Article 54; "The weight of quality criteria shall represent at least 30 % of total points awarded" (Article 98(4), which sets 50 % for labour-intensive contracts; Article 98(5) allows derogations where quality is ensured in other ways, such as specifications), and green award criteria set under Union law, including Article 54 delegated acts, count within that share |
| Share of procurement | Targets of at least 50 % | None |
| Buyer opt-outs | No opt-out paragraph | Two, in Article 54(3) |
The link to the passport is Article 92(1): "Public buyers may require that economic operators provide a declaration of conformity or a declaration of performance and conformity of a product through the digital product passport pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2024/1781" or, "where this does not yet exist, other equivalent electronic means", as means of proof of conformity with the specifications, award criteria or contract performance conditions. Buyers ‘may’ require it: an option, not a duty. The text says ‘declaration of conformity’, not ‘EU declaration of conformity’, the term in the heading of ESPR Article 44. Article 92(2) keeps test reports and certificates from conformity assessment bodies as means of proof.
Origin could enter the passport only conditionally. The relevant sentence of Article 28(4) opens with "If required for applying requirements under Article 73(2)", the European preference requirements; only then would economic operators indicate the country of origin of the goods in their tender, "incorporating it, where applicable, into the digital product passport of the goods". Our guide ‘Made in’ and the DPP: Country-of-Origin Rules for Clothing and Footwear Under EU Customs and Consumer Law, and What the Passport May Add explains the origin rules.
Article 147(1) would amend the ESPR: "Article 65 is deleted", and so is point (b) of Article 74(3); references to them "shall be construed as references to Article 54 and Article 26(1), point (a) of this Regulation", the latter an optional ground for buyers to exclude an operator that has breached obligations under relevant Union legislation. The Act would apply from a "date two years following the entry into force of this Regulation" (Article 149), with no earlier date for Article 147, so Article 65 would stay in the ESPR until then. No implementing act under Article 65 exists that would need to carry over.
5. How tender evidence works today, and what the DPP could change
Today the evidence rules are those of Directive 2014/24/EU. A contracting authority may "require a specific label as means of proof" (Article 43(1)) if five conditions are met, among them that the label requirements are set by a third party over which the applicant has no decisive influence, and it must "accept all labels that confirm that the works, supplies or services meet equivalent label requirements". It may require "a test report from a conformity assessment body or a certificate issued by such a body" (Article 44(1)), and it must accept other appropriate means of proof, "such as a technical dossier of the manufacturer", where the operator had no access to certificates or test reports for reasons not attributable to it (Article 44(2)). The Directive does not mention the digital product passport.
For textiles, buyers can draw on the EU GPP criteria for textile products and services, SWD(2017) 231 final of 6 June 2017, which state: "The use of the criteria is voluntary". The Commission's GPP page still lists them under ‘Voluntary Criteria’ and names the ESPR among legal requirements that are mandatory or "will become mandatory once downstream acts establishing minimum requirements for public contracts are adopted". The criteria cover "uniforms, workwear, personal protective equipment (PPE)" and accessories, interior textiles and "laundry, maintenance and take-back services for textile products"; a footnote states: "Performance requirements for PPE that are laid down in EU and/or national legislation take precedence over any GPP performance requirements". This is the only EU source we found that names uniforms and workwear, and it is voluntary (English version checked).
On verification, the criteria say: "For a number of criteria, the proposed means of verification is the provision of test reports". They also mention verification based on "textile products holding the EU Ecolabel or another relevant Type I ecolabel" meeting the same requirements, and suggest a self-declaration could be considered sufficient when bids are submitted, with tests requested later.
What could the passport change? Once a textile delegated act exists, it will decide what the passport contains. ESPR Annex III lets it choose, among other elements, "compliance documentation and information required under this Regulation or other Union law applicable to the product, such as the declaration of conformity, technical documentation or conformity certificates" (point (e)), and performance information can be required under Article 7(2)(b)(i). An Article 65 act would address the same product aspects. Possibly, then, the data a buyer checks and the passport data would come from one act and sit in one place. Whether a buyer may rely on the passport as proof is for procurement law: the current Directive does not name it; proposal Article 92(1) would.
Our guide Will Clothes Need a CE Mark? ESPR Conformity Assessment, the EU Declaration of Conformity and What the 2026 Digitalisation Deal Changes explains the declaration of conformity under the ESPR, and EU Ecolabel for Textiles: Why It Skips EmpCo's Certification-Scheme Test covers the label that Article 64 and the 2017 criteria refer to.
6. What to do now
| Step | Why |
|---|---|
| Map which public customers and tenders you serve and what they buy: uniforms, workwear, personal protective equipment and accessories, or textile services such as laundry, maintenance and take-back, including rental arrangements | These are the categories the 2017 criteria name. Products whose sole purpose is to serve defence or national security are outside ESPR product groups (Article 5(5)). |
| Collect the evidence buyers accept today: labels, test reports and certificates from conformity assessment bodies, and a technical dossier as a fallback | Directive 2014/24/EU, Articles 43 and 44; the 2017 criteria propose test reports as the means of verification for a number of criteria. |
| Plan to hold performance and compliance data in the passport once the textile delegated act defines it | Annex III lets the act include compliance documentation such as the declaration of conformity; an Article 65 act would address the same product aspects. |
| Prepare a process for issuing a declaration of conformity per product | Proposal Article 92(1) would let buyers ask for it through the passport; see our CE-mark guide named in section 5. |
| Keep documented origin data if you bid where European-preference rules may apply | Proposal Article 28(4) would require the origin of the goods in the tender, and where applicable in the passport, only for those requirements. |
| Watch Have your say 19133 for the draft act and COM(2026) 590 in Parliament; use the open feedback window on initiative 15492 if you want to comment | Feedback on the draft act is announced as upcoming; the 15492 deadline moves daily (18 December 2026 as shown on 23 October 2026). |
DPP AUDIT
Get your tender evidence ready before the textile rules land.
We map the performance, origin and conformity data your public customers may ask for, so it can sit in one passport from day one. Under NDA.
Start Your DPP Audit7. Dates to watch
| Date | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 6 June 2017 | EU GPP criteria for textile products and services issued (voluntary) | SWD(2017) 231 final |
| 18 July 2024 | ESPR enters into force, including Article 65 | Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, Article 80 (published 28 June 2024) |
| 16 April 2025 | ESPR Working Plan 2025–2030 adopted; textiles/apparel JRC-ranked 1st among new final products, indicative 2027 | COM(2025) 187 |
| 28 April 2025 | Corrigendum corrects the fifth subparagraph of Article 65(3) | OJ L, 2025/90356 |
| 28 August 2026 | Have your say 19133 published: procurement implementing act for apparel textiles | Have your say, initiative 19133 |
| 9 September 2026 | Commission proposes the Public Procurement Act, COM(2026) 590 | Legislative Observatory, 2026/0265(COD) |
| 18 December 2026 at the earliest | End of feedback on COM(2026) 590 as shown on 23 October 2026; extended every day until all language versions exist | Have your say, initiative 15492 |
| Q3–Q4 2027 (indicative) | Adoption of the ESPR delegated act for textiles (the textile-apparel page gives Q4 2027) | Commission DPP and textile-apparel pages |
| Q4 2027 (planned) | Commission adoption of the procurement implementing act for apparel textiles | Have your say, initiative 19133 |
| Two years after entry into force | The Public Procurement Act would apply and ESPR Article 65 would be deleted, if adopted as proposed | COM(2026) 590, Articles 147(1) and 149 |
Frequently asked questions
Do public buyers already have to buy ‘green’ uniforms under EU law?
What will ESPR Article 65 require?
Will the DPP replace certificates in tenders?
Are police, army or PPE uniforms covered?
What changes if the Public Procurement Act is adopted?
Sources
- ESPRRegulation (EU) 2024/1781 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products, amending Directive (EU) 2020/1828 and Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 and repealing Directive 2009/125/EC (OJ L, 2024/1781, 28.6.2024). Recitals 100 and 101; Articles 5(5), 7(2) and (4), 44, 64(1), 65, 74(3)(b) and 80; Annex III. Corrigendum (OJ L, 2025/90356, 28.4.2025), point 4, corrects the fifth subparagraph of Article 65(3); no corrigendum concerns Articles 5, 64 or 74. CELEX 32024R1781 ↗ · Corrigendum of 28.4.2025 ↗
- COM(2026) 590 — proposalEuropean Commission, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on public contracts and concessions, repealing Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU, and amending Regulations (EC) No 1370/2007, (EU) 2023/1542, (EU) 2024/1157, (EU) 2024/1252, (EU) 2024/1735, (EU) 2024/1781, (EU) 2024/2847, (EU) 2024/3110 and (EU) 2025/40, and Directives 2008/98/EC, (EU) 2019/882, (EU) 2022/2381, (EU) 2023/1791 and (EU) 2024/1760 (Public Procurement Act), COM(2026) 590 final, 9.9.2026. Explanatory memorandum; Articles 26(1), 28(4), 54, 73(2), 92, 98(4) and (5), 141, 147(1) and 149; Annex VII. English only; not adopted. CELEX 52026PC0590 ↗
- Legislative ObservatoryEuropean Parliament, Legislative Observatory, procedure 2026/0265(COD), Public Procurement Act: status ‘Preparatory phase in Parliament’, committee referral pending, no key event after 9.9.2026 (accessed 23.10.2026). Legislative Observatory ↗
- Have your say 15492European Commission, Have your say, initiative 15492, Revision of EU rules on public procurement: feedback on COM(2026) 590, end date shown on 23.10.2026: 18 December 2026, extended every day until the proposal is available in all EU languages. Have your say, initiative 15492 ↗
- Have your say 19133 — planEuropean Commission, Have your say, initiative 19133, Textiles – criteria for sustainability in public procurement, Ares(2026)8097757, published 28.8.2026: implementing regulation, Directorate-General for Environment; draft act feedback upcoming; Commission adoption planned for the fourth quarter of 2027 (accessed 23.10.2026). Have your say, initiative 19133 ↗
- ESPR Working Plan — planCommunication from the Commission, Ecodesign for Sustainable Products and Energy Labelling Working Plan 2025-2030, COM(2025) 187 final, 16.4.2025. Sections 2.2.1 and 3.4. CELEX 52025DC0187 ↗
- EU GPP criteria — voluntaryCommission Staff Working Document, EU green public procurement criteria for textiles products and services, SWD(2017) 231 final, 6.6.2017 (voluntary). Sections 1, 1.1 (with footnote 1), 1.2 and 1.3; English version. Listed under ‘Voluntary Criteria’ on the Commission's GPP Criteria and Requirements page (accessed 23.10.2026). Criteria (CIRCABC, EN) ↗ · GPP page ↗
- Directive 2014/24/EUDirective 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014, p. 65). Articles 43 and 44; the later amending acts do not change these articles. CELEX 32014L0024 ↗
- European CommissionEuropean Commission, Digital Product Passport page with the indicative DPP timeline (modified 22 October 2026) and Textile apparel page (modified 7 August 2026). English versions checked on 23.10.2026. DPP page ↗ · Textile apparel page ↗
The legal acts were read in their Official Journal versions published by the Publications Office of the European Union (EUR-Lex); the Publications Office records were searched for later acts, amendments and corrigenda on 23.10.2026. COM(2026) 590, the Have your say and Legislative Observatory pages, the Commission's DPP and GPP pages and the 2017 GPP criteria are English-only or English-led working sources; the web pages were last checked on 23.10.2026, and COM(2026) 590 (still English only on that date) and the 2017 criteria were read on 21.10.2026. This is general information, not legal, financial or investment advice.