These criteria have been drafted in collaboration with the medical textiles working group of the Healthcare Market Transformation Network (HMTN) to provide sustainability criteria and guidelines addressing priority sustainability issues associated with reusable textiles in the European healthcare sector.^[1] Procurers are free to adapt these criteria as required, in line with their own policy and sustainability goals. 

As well as a broad and balanced range of sustainability criteria, we encourage healthcare procurers to employ the best price-quality ratio (BPQR) in product selection.^[2] This enables a tender to be evaluated against award criteria that include environmental and social criteria linked to the target of the contract. A price or cost criterion must also be included.

EU economic operators^[3] must comply with relevant EU legislation for procuring medical devices, i.e. the Public Procurement Directive - PPD, REACH for chemicals, and the Medical Device Regulation - MDR. This document consolidates requirements under current legislation. Non-EU economic operators that do not fully comply with EU requirements should consider this document as a starting point that sets out required minimum criteria, representing a more comprehensive way of producing within social, environmental, and chemical requirements. 

These criteria will be developed to keep pace with market developments and best practice. We will update this document based on feedback, market or regulatory changes, and new innovations. Please send feedback to europe@hcwh.org.

[1] Required criteria should be considered as minimum sustainability requirements while award criteria are additional, optional criteria.

[2] BPQR criterion must be formulated to allow contracting authorities to effectively verify information provided by potential vendors and if tenders meet that criterion.

[3] Manufacturers, authorised representatives, system/procedure pack producers, and importers.