Eco-Design, Circular Fashion, and the EU : From Regulation to Real-World Design

Addressing the growing gap between sustainability and real-world design and production practice, this book provides a practical and design-led framework for implementing eco-design and circular fashion within contemporary fashion systems shaped by European regulation, digital transformation, and evolving sustainability expectations.

Addressing the growing gap between sustainability theory and real-world design and production practice, this book provides a practical and design-led framework for implementing eco-design and circular fashion within contemporary fashion systems shaped by European regulation, digital transformation, and evolving sustainability expectations. Fashion designers and product teams are increasingly required to respond to regulatory frameworks such as the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), Digital Product Passports (DPP), Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and traceability obligations, while continuing to operate within complex global supply chains. Yet existing literature often explains what circular fashion is without demonstrating how it can be implemented inside real design workflows, material decisions, and production systems. This book responds to that challenge by placing the designer at the centre of interconnected ecological, technical, and organisational systems. Drawing on systems thinking, circular design methodologies, material innovation, and Industry 4.0 technologies, the book offers visual frameworks, case-based insights, and practical tools that support the transition from linear to circular fashion systems. Topics include material health and monomaterial design, upcycling and regeneration at scale, digital prototyping and smart production, traceability and data flows, and circular business models for both start-ups and established brands. Bridging creativity, policy literacy, and operational decision-making, this book offers a structured and applied contribution to sustainable fashion education and practice. This book will be of interest to postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students in sustainable fashion and design, as well as fashion professionals, educators, and sustainability practitioners seeking applied, EU-aligned approaches to circular design and product development.