The Digital Product Passport (DPP), part of the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), will create a standardised system for sharing comprehensive product data, from information about durability and recyclability to recycled content and environmental footprint.
“It is emerging as one of the most transformative regulatory and business shifts the fashion industry has faced in decades,” agree global trend forecaster Future Snoops (formerly Fashion Snoops) and enterprise SaaS (Software as a Service) platform GreenStitch in their joint report “Digital Product Passports: Designing for Future Regulation, Now.”
“While many organisations still see DPPs primarily as a compliance or IT initiative, the reality is far broader: DPPs will fundamentally reshape how products are designed, sourced, manufactured, marketed, sold, repaired, resold and valued across their entire lifecycle,” they emphasise.
The clock until implementation is ticking
Given that textile products placed on the EU market will require standardised digital product records linked to physical products only from mid to end 2029, many brands are under the impression that they still have time. But this is a misconception. “This is no longer a future watch item and action is required now. Brands should assume that DPP readiness will require robust product data, better design, upstream supplier engagement and efficient digital infrastructure able to support traceability, product transparency and lifecycle information at scale. In most cases, this will take 18-24 months to establish at scale.”
”The brands that win will be the ones that build for both compliance and commercial value from day one.“
In addition, the EU’s anti-greenwashing regulation (Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition, ECGT) is coming into force from September 2026, requiring brands to provide product-level data that is credible, structured, traceable and defensible. “Companies that wait until the 2028 Delegated Act risk entering the compliance window with fragmented data, disconnected systems, inefficient operations and significant compliance exposure,” warn Future Snoops and GreenStitch.
Three strategic directions
Growth, design decisions and digitalisation are the strategic perspectives to act on now. DPPs can create the digital product infrastructure needed to power resale, repair, authentication, customer engagement, warranty services, smarter product development and stronger sustainability claims, thus providing growth, efficiency and competitive edge. “The brands that win will be the ones that build for both compliance and commercial value from day one,” predict the organisations.
Some of the most critical drivers of DPP success are product design decisions as they determine material choices, fibre blends, trims, chemical treatments, construction methods and repairability. Thus, up to 80 percent of a product’s future compliance, circularity and commercial value is determined at the design st age.
Lastly, a company’s ability to digitise will determine how fast it can scale. DPPs will create massive data complexity across the fashion value chain, making manual management impossible. “Success will depend on software platforms, systems integration, automation and AI to manage and scale hundreds of product-level data points across materials, chemicals, suppliers, manufacturing, logistics and end-of-life pathways,” caution the report authors.
How can brands get started?
Future Snoops and GreenStitch recommend a five-step approach to DPP readiness. First, there needs to be a cross-functional DPP transformation team including design, sourcing, sustainability, IT, legal, finance, operations and marketing. The team should undertake a readiness gap assessment and audit all active sustainability marketing claims ahead of the ECGT directive enforcement in September. Unsubstantiated claims should be removed.
Second, brands should approach DPP design with business value in mind, not just compliance alone. “Build DPP use cases for resale, repair, authentication, aftercare and consumer engagement from the outset. Integrate DPP data requirements into new product development from the design stage, adding scoring tools to material and product approval processes,” advises the report.
Third, Tier 1, 2 and 3 supplier onboarding should start immediately. This includes assessing supplier data readiness early on, given that upstream traceability and data capture will be one of the most time-consuming elements of implementation. “Fabric mills, dye houses and material suppliers will likely create a big dat a bottleneck,” cautions the report.
The fourth step is to build the digital backbone, which includes a revision of existing systems like product lifecycle management (PLM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), lifecycle analysis (LCA) and traceability. This should identify any gaps in interoperability, data quality and scalability. “Prioritise digitalisation, system integration, automation and AI-enabled workflows to efficiently manage data,” advise Future Snoops and GreenStitch.
Last is the pilot phase, which is also a chance to learn and ultimately scale. Future Snoops and GreenStitch recommend to launch three to five product pilots in 2026 and 2027 to test data flows, technology integration, supplier readiness and consumer engagement. A roadmap covering governance, systems, process changes, AI enablement and readiness milestones will help, as well as monitoring evolving DPP technical standards to refine implementation plans as requirements are confirmed.
What kind of data will be required?
While the details for DPP data fields are still being worked out, core performance indicators or so-called design options (DOs) have emerged: The robustness score (DO1) assesses physical robustness of a garment after washing while the recyclability score (DO2) looks at blend composition and construction, both on a scale of 1 to 10. DO3, recycled content, determines the percentage of recycled fibre by mass and distinguishes between open-loop and closed-loop sources. DO4 looks at the carbon/environmental footprint of manufacturing (Tier 1– 3), likely including greenhouse gas emissions/carbon, energy, water and water pollution. Tier 4 will be likely excluded from Phase 1.
Other areas include substances of concern (SoC) like hazardous chemicals, microfibre risk with an initial qualitative classification and a potential move toward quantitative shedding metrics at a later point, supply chain traceability with mandatory Tier 1 facility identifiers and Tier 2-targeted, fibre composition and care, use and end-of-life guidance with contact details and instructions for repair services voluntary in this phase.
The advanced phase with a broader environmental and social data scope will start in 2033, requiring primary product specific LCA and full Tier-2 traceability. Social and due diligence fields are expected to enter the scope, as well as a quantitative microfibre shedding rate. The full circular phase will start from 2036 and be operational across the EU with real-time lifecycle tracking, cross-border data exchange and secondary data markets.
“A digital product passport is not just a compliance checkbox, it is the infrastructure for trust. When a brand can show, at the SKU level, exactly where a fibre came from, what its carbon footprint is, and how it should be handled at end-of-life , that product becomes legible to every stakeholder in the value chain. The brands that start building this data foundation today will already be ahead when DPP becomes a law within the next two to three years,“ sums up GreenStitch CEO Narendra Makwana.
How will consumers engage?
Current research, for example by Certilogo, shows that almost half (49 percent) of consumers are very or somewhat familiar with DPPs, more than previously thought. Transparency is the most appreciated benefit, with close to three fourths of consumers (71 percent) believing that DPPs will increase their trust in brands. “This trust comes from data, not claims, as consumers grow tired of green terms and far-reaching goals that amount to little,” states the report.
According to research by Authentique, a majority (90 percent) of consumers especially looks for material and composition, driven by both health and environmental considerations, followed by a certificate of authenticity (87 percent) from brands in view of counterfeiting concerns, especially when it comes to luxury products. Aftercare and repair instructions are third most likely to be used by consumers seeking to extend
the lifetime of prized possessions.
Resale is perhaps “the most interesting element of DPPs for consumers” according to the report as 82 percent of consumers are looking to access product details and original imagery via DPPs. This aligns with data from Vogue Business according to which more than half (56 percent) of consumers would be more likely to purchase second hand items when a DPP is available. Warranty, sustainability data and rewards is also information that consumers would likely look for.
In terms of technical aspects, consumers are used to scanning QR codes, not only for fashion items. According to research by QR code management and marketing platform QRCodeChimp, close to half (44.6 percent) of global internet users scan at least one QR code per month and almost two thirds (64 percent) of shoppers have scanned a product QR code in-store. However, doing so requires a smartphone, internet access and digit al literacy to navigate QR inter face s and interpret data. “Elderly populations, lower-income consumers and those in digitally underserved regions lack one or more of these prerequisites. These communities are often the most impacted by fast fashion,” cautions the report.
Who has successfully implemented the DPP?
Brand case study: Nobody’s Child
London-based womenswear brand Nobody’s Child started in 2015 with the aim of improving its impact through design. More than half (51.4 percent) of all garments are designed with monomaterial fabrics and all styles are designed to be worn and re-worn. The brand’s partnership with the Reskinned platform facilitates easier recycling and resale.
DPP piloting began in 2023 with 25 products initially; currently, the DPP has been implemented on more than 1,500 stock keeping units (SKUs). Full collection implementation is planned for fall/winter 2025. The B Corp certified brand is currently working towards Tier 4 traceability across all collections, while finding ways to use DPP insights beyond compliance.
“Getting to where we are today hasn’t alway s been straightfor ward… [but]our approach remains the same as our overarching sustainability strategy: progress over perfection,” comments sustainability lead Philippa Grogan.
Among the brand’s key learnings is that good data and a strong, harmonised data architecture will create a solid foundation while supporting suppliers throughout the transition is also essential to success, as well as a cross-functional DPP task force, early adoption and scaling beyond pilots.
Supplier case study: Sutlej Textiles & Industries Ltd.
As one of India’s largest integrated textile manufacturers, Sutlej Textiles & Industries Ltd. produces a wide range of spun yarns and fabrics for global brands across the UK, Europe and beyond. The company was committed to sustainability but lacked verifiable product data to proof it, hence decided on implementing the DPP for 75 yarn and fabric products through a hybrid approach: While GreenStitch enabled LCA methodology, DPP creation and regulator y tracking, Sutlej’s own systems provided the manufacturing data backbone. It took just one month from kick-off to 75-product DPP coverage. Looking ahead, Sutlej plans to expand from gate-to-gate to cradle-to-gate LCA, broaden product category coverage and deepen supplier traceability.
“A Digital Product Passport is not a compliance document but a commercial argument. When environmental data sits next to price and lead time, sustainability stops being a cost and becomes your competitive advantage, ” states Sutlej CEO Ashish Kumar in the report.
A key recommendation for anyone starting out is to fix the data first before building passports as the DPP is only as reliable as its underlying data infrastructure. Another learning is to view the DPP as an analytical engine that provides operational insight, not just transparency. As seen on the brand’s side as well, ownership across departments and functions is key. In addition, sector-specific expertise matters as generic ESG platforms cannot replicate the process-level understanding that textile-specialist partners bring to the table. Last but not least, data reluctance is a trust problem, not a capability problem. Phased onboarding and clear data-use agreements can increase supplier engagement.
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