Future Development of Product Labelling in Ecodesign Regulation for Sustainable Products and the EU Legal Framework for Energy Labelling

Dear Colleagues,

Recently, a new type of product labelling has passed the policy-making process in Europe, namely the reparability index for smartphones and tablets. This could represent the first real implementation of the mandatory communication of information to the consumer pertaining to the material and resource efficiency of products, as announced in the European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plans. But does this really lead to a paradigm shift in product efficiency labelling or does it simply open a Pandora's box? Is this kind of information interesting for consumers and could it change consumers' purchasing behaviour at the point of sale to the same extent that the EU energy labelling has achieved with the implementation of the Energy Efficiency Index? What steps should follow? Should the durability of products or their recyclability in the entire circulatory economy be labelled? In addition, the rethinking and redesign of product efficiency labelling seems to be a significant concern, particularly since the draft Ecodesign Regulation for sustainable products was proposed by national policy makers. If the communication of advanced information to the consumer is to be further implemented, material and resource efficiency labelling must be more prominent and available for products other than electronics and energy-related products.

This Special Issue aims to instigate a discussion of the future development of product labelling in the context of the Ecodesign Regulation for sustainable products and the EU legal framework for energy labelling, especially in the context of the planned implementation of a digital product passport. The legal framework, the most promising product groups (also beyond electronics and ICT products), the type of information, the combination and aggregation of information and the design aspects of product labelling itself can be discussed. In addition to the aspects of efficiency calculation and labelling, consumer behaviour and the market surveillance of efficiency labelling are also of interest.

This Special Issue aims to provide additional input for policy makers and to trigger research in the field of product labelling. Much has been announced and implementation has already started. Further research is now needed to ensure that the process of implementing new labelling information is at the highest quality level and that it contributes positively to consumer demand for more efficient products.

Dr. Moritz-Caspar Schlegel
Guest Editor

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• product efficiency
• material efficiency
• resource efficiency
• ecodesign
• ecodesign for sustainable product regulation
• EU energy labelling
• circular economy
• consumer behavior