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MANDATORY FROM 2027 · ESPR ARTICLE 7

EU Digital Product
Passport (DPP)

The complete guide for fashion and apparel brands. What the DPP is, what data it must contain, how consumers access it, and how to publish your first compliant passport before the 2027 deadline.

Last updated May 2025 · Based on ESPR Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 and expected delegated acts

DPP — AT A GLANCE
RegulationESPR (EU) 2024/1781
Specific articleArticle 7 — product passport
Fashion deadline2027 (expected)
Access methodQR code or RFID
Mandatory fields14+ data points
Unit-level requiredYes — per item serialisation
Enforced byMarket surveillance authorities
PenaltyProduct recall, market ban, fines
WHAT IS THE EU DIGITAL PRODUCT PASSPORT?

A machine-readable identity record for every garment you sell in the EU

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is mandated by Article 7 of the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) — Regulation (EU) 2024/1781. It requires manufacturers, importers, and brand owners to create and maintain a digital record for every product placed on the EU market.

The passport must be permanently accessible — meaning the QR code or RFID tag on the garment must resolve to a live, updated record for the expected life of the product, not just at point of sale. If you discontinue a product line, the passports must remain accessible.

Critically, the DPP must be item-level — not just product-level. Each individual garment needs a unique identifier (the EU is aligning on SGTIN-96 EPC encoding via GS1 standards). Size M and size L of the same style are different units, each requiring a unique passport link, even if the core data is identical.

The DPP is not a sustainability badge or a marketing tool. It is a regulatory instrument that enables market surveillance authorities, customs, retailers, and consumers to verify the sustainability claims made about a product. False or unverifiable data in a DPP is treated as greenwashing and carries the same penalties as other consumer protection violations.

THE CORE PRINCIPLE

"Trace what you claim, claim what you can trace." Every data field in a DPP must be backed by verifiable evidence — a certificate, a supplier declaration, a test result, or an audit report. Unverified claims are not permitted. TraceID enforces this by linking every DPP field to its underlying evidence document.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DPP?
👗
Brand / importer
Primary responsible party. Must create, maintain, and update the DPP for every product placed on the EU market. Cannot delegate responsibility to suppliers.
🏭
Manufacturer
Must provide the brand with all data required for the DPP — material composition, origin, certifications — in a format compatible with EU data standards.
🏪
Retailer
Must ensure DPP is accessible at point of sale — either via QR code on the product or via RFID reader. Must not sell products without a valid DPP from the mandatory date.
👤
Consumer
Has the right to access full DPP data without downloading an app or creating an account. Data must be free at point of access.
IMPORTANT: SELF-REPORTED DATA IS NOT COMPLIANT

EU ESPR explicitly requires that DPP data be verifiable and, for key claims, backed by third-party certification or audited documentation. A brand cannot simply assert its garments are made of 100% organic cotton without a valid GOTS or OCS certificate linked to the specific batch used in production.

MANDATORY DATA FIELDS

The 14 data fields every textile DPP must contain

The following fields are expected to be mandatory under the textile-specific delegated act. TraceID pre-maps all of them. Fields marked with ✓ are currently fully supported; fields marked with ⏳ require supplier data collection via the Ripple traceability module.

🧵

Fibre composition by weight

✓ Ready in TraceID

Every fibre must be listed with its percentage by weight. The EU taxonomy of fibre names applies — "polyester" not "recycled nylon" for nylon recycled from polyester.

EVIDENCE:Lab test report or supplier declaration
🌍

Country of manufacture — per stage

✓ Ready in TraceID

Each manufacturing stage (spinning, weaving, dyeing, cutting, assembly) must list its country. "Made in Portugal" alone is insufficient — the full tier-1 through tier-3 geography must be declared.

EVIDENCE:Supplier registration documents
♻️

Recycled content percentage

⏳ Requires Ripple data

Pre-consumer and post-consumer recycled content must be declared separately. Claims must be backed by certification linked to the specific production batch — not a general supplier certificate.

EVIDENCE:GRS, RCS, or ISCC certificate linked to batch
💨

Carbon footprint per unit

⏳ Requires Ripple data

Must cover at minimum cradle-to-gate — raw material through to finished garment. The EU is expected to mandate a standardised calculation methodology aligned with ISO 14067.

EVIDENCE:LCA report or certified carbon calculation
📋

Third-party certifications

✓ Ready in TraceID

All relevant certifications (GOTS, GRS, OEKO-TEX, bluesign, Fair Trade, etc.) must be listed with their validity period and the specific scope they cover. Expired certificates cannot be used.

EVIDENCE:Certificate document with expiry date and scope
🔧

Repair and care instructions

✓ Ready in TraceID

Care instructions that are already on the physical label, plus disassembly and repair information — which components can be replaced, whether replacement parts are available, and where.

EVIDENCE:Brand-provided documentation
🏭

Supplier identifiers (GSTIN / GLN)

⏳ Requires Ripple data

Key suppliers must be identified with globally unique identifiers. TraceID uses GS1 GLN numbers for facility identification, linked to the global supplier registry.

EVIDENCE:GS1 registration or national business registry
🏷️

Unique item identification — SGTIN-96

✓ Ready in TraceID

Each unit requires a unique identifier. ESPR aligns with GS1 SGTIN-96 encoding for RFID and QR. TraceID generates compliant SGTIN-96 hex codes from your GTIN and serial number ranges.

EVIDENCE:Generated by TraceID from EAN-13 and serial number
🔄

End-of-life instructions

✓ Ready in TraceID

How the product should be disposed of, including take-back scheme participation, recyclability, and disassembly guidance for sorting at end of life.

EVIDENCE:Brand-provided documentation
⚗️

Hazardous substance declarations

⏳ Requires Ripple data

Any substances from the EU SVHC candidate list present above the 0.1% threshold must be declared. This requires tier-2 and tier-3 supplier declarations on chemical inputs.

EVIDENCE:REACH SVHC declaration from each supplier tier

Durability and repairability score

✓ Ready in TraceID

A standardised score (likely 1–10) based on seam strength, abrasion resistance, fastener quality, and availability of replacement parts. The EU methodology is being finalised.

EVIDENCE:Calculated from product specification data
💧

Water and energy use

⏳ Requires Ripple data

Water consumed and energy used per unit in production. Requires process-level data from dyehouses and finishing facilities — tier-2 or tier-3 suppliers in most supply chains.

EVIDENCE:Production process declarations from manufacturers
🌱

Chemical treatment information

⏳ Requires Ripple data

Dyes, finishes, and treatments applied to the fabric — particularly relevant for biocides (e.g. anti-mould treatments) and fluorochemicals (DWR coatings).

EVIDENCE:Dyehouse and finishing chemical declarations
📦

Packaging data (PPWR link)

✓ Ready in TraceID

The DPP must reference the packaging digital record required under PPWR. In TraceID, packaging data entered for PPWR compliance automatically links to product DPPs.

EVIDENCE:Linked from PPWR packaging module
HOW TRACEID PUBLISHES YOUR FIRST DPP

From product data to published passport in hours

Most compliance projects fail because they start with the hardest problem — collecting traceability data from tier-2 and tier-3 suppliers. TraceID's approach is the opposite: start with what you already know, publish a DPP immediately, then deepen the data over time.

A DPP with complete tier-1 data and partial traceability is better than no DPP. The compliance score in TraceID shows exactly how complete your passport is — and what actions would increase it.

DAY 1
Import your product catalogue
Upload a CSV of your product data. TraceID's AI mapper automatically identifies material fields, composition data, and certifications from any column structure. No template required.
DAY 1
AI maps to ESPR taxonomy
Material names are automatically normalised to EU fibre taxonomy (e.g. "RPET" → "Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate"). Compositions are validated to total 100%. Anomalies flagged for review.
DAY 1–2
Add certifications and compliance data
Upload certification documents. TraceID parses GRS, GOTS, OEKO-TEX, and bluesign® certificates automatically. Expiry dates tracked. Certificates linked to the specific product lines they cover.
WEEK 1
Invite tier-1 suppliers
Send WhatsApp invitations to your manufacturing facilities. Suppliers confirm their facility address, GLN identifier, and production scope. This data flows directly into the DPP origin fields.
WEEK 1–2
Review compliance scores and gaps
The TraceID dashboard shows each product's DPP completeness score and a list of missing fields — ordered by compliance impact. Your team works through the priority list.
WEEK 2–3
Publish and generate labels
Once a DPP meets your minimum completeness threshold, publish it. TraceID generates batch-print QR code labels and RFID encoding files for your label printer or RFID encoding station.
CONTINUE READING
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Full Compliance Hub

The master overview of all three EU regulations — DPP, PPWR, and supply chain traceability — with deadlines, requirements, and how they interconnect.

Publish your first DPP today.

With existing product data, you can have a live, ESPR-compliant Digital Product Passport within hours. Not months. Let us show you.

Book a DPP demo →Open dashboard