European Parliament Study Evaluates Deployment of Digital Product Passport in The Textile Sector
The European Parliament has recently published a study entitled “Digital product passport for the textile sector”. It notes that a European digital product passport (DPP) could enhance textile industry traceability, circularity, and transparency. The study is relevant because the DPP will become a mandatory requirement, by means of a future regulation covering the ecodesign of textile products, to electronically register, process and share product‑related information amongst supply chain businesses, authorities (including the EU’s customs authorities for imports) and consumers.
The parliamentary study focuses on the introduction of a DPP, framed within the European Union’s strategy for sustainable and circular textiles. It examines the potential, needs, benefits, and challenges associated with deploying a DPP for all stakeholders throughout the European textile sector’s value chain. According to the parliamentary study, a DPP could benefit all actors in this complex value chain, including producers, supply‑chain tiers, regulatory authorities, sorters, recyclers, and consumers.
The European Parliament’s report, released earlier this summer, details the possible effectiveness of a European DPP in enhancing traceability, circularity, and transparency throughout the lifecycle of fashion products. The hope is that a DPP could promote greater sustainability and longer lifespans for textiles and garments. To create a potential generic DPP model tailored for the textile industry, the researchers relied on data from multiple sources, providing a thorough understanding of the intricacies associated with developing an effective DPP for the textile sector.
The report identifies 11 categories of possible DPP aims and contributions, including the following:
- Information to consumers and to companies,
- sustainability indicator management,
- promoting circularity,
- market surveillance,
- track and trace after sales,
- compliance with regulations,
- product authentication, and
- product end-of-life management.
The report further identifies 8 categories of stakeholders who could be interested in or benefit from using a DPP: supply chain companies, retailers, brands, authorities, certification and assessment companies, media, consumers, and circulatory operators.
Important to the construction of the DPP, the report identifies 16 categories of information that could be contained in the DPP: product description, supply chain, transport, composition, environmental impact, documentation, social impact, health impact, impact on animals, circularity, information on the brand, granularity, quantity, communication/identification, costs, after‑sales tracking and tracing, and customer feedback.
After conducting the research mentioned above, the authors of the report developed an initial version of a generic DPP structured around the product lifecycle. To formulate this model, the report gathered feedback through a survey consisting of 10 questions, completed by 81 stakeholders and experts from the textile sector across nearly 20 European countries.
The feedback validated that most of the information related to supply chain issues, and finished product categories should be included in the DPP. However, there remains uncertainty about whether details regarding transformation and transport companies should be included. The majority of respondents agreed that cost information should not be a part of the DPP. Opinions varied more regarding the inclusion of data for the distribution stage, and there was a consensus that customer identification should be excluded during the usage stage.
Pursuant to the survey results, the report proposes a three‑phase plan for the overall deployment of a DPP.
Phase 1 consists of the deployment of a minimal and simplified DPP, only containing mandatory information and anything else useful for a lifecycle analysis, to be put into effect by 2027.
Phase 2 involves the deployment of an advanced DPP, which could progressively extend to other stakeholders with a greater amount of information collected along the entirety of the lifecycle. This phase would be expected to take place by 2030 and would be adjusted based on the findings from the first phase and the results of further experimentation.
Phase 3 concludes the plan by deploying a full‑circular DPP including all needed information and to promote total circularity in the textile sector with an expected implementation date of 2033.
The report concludes that the DPP ought to be developed as a standard gateway, utilising existing databases, data infrastructures, data standards, and best practices for data sharing, in order to prevent duplication and minimise unnecessary administrative load.
Hong Kong traders should be aware that once the DPP for textile products becomes mandatory in Europe, the study calls for garments manufactured outside the EU to adhere to the same DPP standards as those produced within the EU. The study specifies that this would help maintain fair competition among brands.
Additionally, the study argues that the DPP could serve as a safeguard for EU citizens against unsustainable textile manufacturing practices, especially enhancing the use of chemicals that are deemed safe for both the local environment and consumers. Therefore, once a DPP becomes mandatory for textiles manufactured in or imported from outside Europe, it is expected that they would have to undergo DPP verification and laboratory testing. This would be so as to confirm that they are free from harmful substances and are produced by certified companies that do not engage in slave labour or utilise hazardous chemicals.
