Europe’s Digital Product Passport Moves Closer to Reality

The European Union is moving forward with plans to introduce a Digital Product Passport (DPP), a sweeping initiative that could transform how textile products are tracked, repaired, reused and recycled throughout their life cycle.

In July, the European Commission launched the DPP Registry and testing environment, marking a major milestone in the implementation of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). The registry will serve as the framework for registering DPPs across multiple sectors, including textiles.

The DPP functions as a digital identity card for products, components and materials. Its purpose is to improve supply-chain transparency, support circularity, strengthen sustainability efforts and facilitate regulatory compliance. Product information will remain stored in decentralized systems, but manufacturers and other economic operators will be required to register product passports through the EU registry.

Textile apparel is one of the priority product groups identified under the ESPR Working Plan for 2025-2030. According to the European Commission, the DPP is expected to give businesses a platform to demonstrate the sustainability and circularity of their products while providing consumers and supply-chain partners with more reliable information.

Future textile passports could include information such as product identification, fiber composition, origin details, repair and maintenance guidance, reuse and recycling information, and identification of key economic operators in the supply chain. The information would be accessible online and through data carriers such as QR codes attached to products.

While the concept enjoys broad support, linen, uniform and facility services providers are working to ensure the framework recognizes the industry’s unique business model.

To help shape upcoming regulations, the European Textile Services Association (ETSA) Sustainability Working Group has established a dedicated DPP Taskforce led by Leonie Biesen, head of sustainability and ESG at CWS Workwear International. The task force’s goal is to ensure that DPP requirements align with the linen, uniform and facility services industry while delivering meaningful value without creating unnecessary administrative burdens.

ETSA believes the current direction of the DPP framework contains limitations because it was largely designed around the textile apparel and fashion sector rather than the linen, uniform and facility services business. As a result, the task force is advocating for a framework that directs information to relevant stakeholders, including customers, regulators and supply-chain partners, while avoiding unnecessary consumer-facing data requirements.

The group also is calling for proportionate data requirements that avoid excessive item-level reporting and better reflect the industry’s predominantly business-to-business operating model. Task force members want the DPP to recognize the circular nature of the linen, uniform and facility services business, including garment life extension, use-phase optimization and life cycle management.

The timeline remains ambitious. ETSA reports that the delegated act establishing DPP requirements for textiles is expected to be adopted in the third or fourth quarter of 2027, with implementation scheduled for 2029.

To support its efforts, ETSA is seeking sustainability policy experts and information technology specialists interested in contributing to discussions around digital traceability, data ownership and reporting requirements. The association is closely monitoring ongoing regulatory developments and consultation processes.

For textile manufacturers, service providers and supply-chain partners serving European markets, the message is clear: digital transparency is becoming a central component of future textile regulation. Companies that begin preparing now will be better positioned as the DPP moves from concept to reality.