In our joint letter to the European Commission, we express concern that addressing ‘textiles and footwear’ in a single product group under the EU's new ecodesign rules (ESPR) will focus on developing ecodesign requirements for apparel, considerably delaying specific requirements for footwear. Footwear must be a priority product group in the ESPR work plan and we need a preliminary study on ecodesign requirements specifically for footwear as quickly as possible.