The Digital Product Passport Transforming the Textile Industry

A worker at Black Moda’s Portugal factory is seated at an industrial overlock sewing machine, sewing a black jersey garment. Other workers can be seen operating overlock machines in the background.

The EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) entered into force in July 2024. One of the key elements of the regulation is the upcoming Digital Product Passport (DPP) for all textile products. The DPP will provide essential product information not only for consumers, but also for recyclers and other actors within the product lifecycle. This is not simply about adding more product information — it represents a structural transformation: in the future, every product will have a digital “identity card” that follows it throughout its entire lifecycle. Read on to learn what this means in practice.

The Digital Product Passport Increases Transparency Throughout the Product Lifecycle

TThe product passport will include, among other things:

material composition and origin information
certificates and compliance details
instructions for use, maintenance, and recycling

The purpose of the Digital Product Passport is above all to improve transparency and traceability across the entire product value chain throughout the product’s lifecycle. It is important to understand that this is not merely about additional product information requirements, but a major structural change: every product will have a digital “identity card” that accompanies it throughout its lifecycle.

The Delegated Act Will Define the Final Requirements

The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has published its first report on the required data sets, but the final delegated product group regulation will ultimately define exactly what information the Digital Product Passport must contain, how it must be made available (including at the point of sale), the format and placement of QR codes or similar identifiers, and which actors will have access to different types of information.

The Digital Product Passport Benefits Consumers, Businesses, and Recyclers — Transparency as a Competitive Advantage for EU Textile and Apparel Companies

There are several stakeholders within the product value chain who can benefit from the information provided by the Digital Product Passport. For consumers, it can provide information that influences purchasing decisions or guidance on how to handle the product at the end of its lifecycle. For apparel brands and buyers, it can help clarify procurement quality criteria, as product-related information will no longer remain merely as background documentation. For manufacturers operating within the EU, the Digital Product Passport can become a competitive advantage if used wisely, as increased transparency builds trust and makes it easier to respond to customer requirements.

What Does the Digital Product Passport Mean for Companies?

Alongside the physical value chain, the Digital Product Passport creates a parallel digital value chain. The biggest challenge in all of this is data management: collecting, sharing, and processing data. The Digital Product Passport will inevitably increase the administrative burden on companies in terms of obtaining correctly formatted information and will also create additional costs, particularly related to ICT systems and digital infrastructure investments.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular, have limited resources to respond to these requirements and investments. Most textile and apparel companies in Finland are SMEs, each managing data in different ways. For this reason, the textile industry should align common data models as effectively as possible, since no company can manage value chain data sharing alone. A Digital Product Passport that enables efficient data transfer could improve the sharing of certificates and detailed product information, enhance recycling processes, and support better maintenance and repair services.

Black Moda Pilot Project: What Did We Learn in Practice?

During spring 2026, Black Moda carried out a pilot project on Digital Product Passports together with software company Ovido. The practical work of collecting data helped clarify the requirements of the Digital Product Passport and highlighted one key insight: technology is not the biggest challenge — data is.

Collecting and presenting data requires collaboration across the entire value chain, clear responsibilities, and an understanding of which information is truly valuable to customers. Black Moda’s work with the Digital Product Passport continues.

Writer: Marja-Kaisa Kuusimaa