What is a Digital Product Pass?
Textile consumption in the European Union ranks as the fourth highest contributor to environmental impact, after food, housing, and mobility. The EU is aware of the importance of the textile sector and the urgent need for a greener approach. With the Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, the EU is taking a forward-thinking approach, focusing on both production and consumption. This plan aims to create a more sustainable future through traceability and transparency throughout the garment's whole lifecycle.
One of the concrete actions will be a digital product pass (DPP), a digital identity card for garments. This pass will store information about the product's value chain and sustainability. While the exact contents of the pass are still being determined, it will likely include details such as the materials and their origin, technical performance, and recyclability, among other relevant data. This information will be accessible electronically, QR code being one solution. The purpose of this new kind of transparency is to enable people to make informed decisions. It will also allow customs authorities to perform automatic checks since it will be obligatory for all of the textiles placed and sold in the EU market.
The broader perspective
We at Pure Waste have a broad perspective on the DPP and embrace it as a tool that enables us to develop enhanced services. We will not only have a product pass with the minimum acquired information but also a pass aligned with our future circularity functions, like leasing, selling secondhand, repair, or take-back services, to mention some.
Piloting the digital product pass
The garment can also become a store itself! The first purchases of our products by scanning the QR code were already made at Sitra's event in the end of March.
Going forward, we will gradually launch the digital product passes in our production. While we expect to produce the first garment with digital product passes this year, achieving full inventory with DDPs will be a long-term effort.
Stay tuned for a more transparent future!
Sources:
EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, 2024
Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, 2024
https://commission.europa.eu/energy-climate-change-environment/standards-tools-and-labels/products-labelling-rules-and-requirements/ecodesign-sustainable-products-regulation_en/products-labelling-rules-and-requirements/ecodesign-sustainable-products-regulation_en
Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, 2024