AUAS research group FR&T designs digital product passport for fair fashion
Is this garment really as sustainably produced as the manufacturer claims? And what material is my shirt actually made of? These are the kinds of questions the Digital Product Passport aims to answer.
The Fashion Research & Technology (FR&T) research group at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) is investigating these questions in the project The Molecular Digital Physical Product Passport, or M-DPP for short. The project is funded by Regieorgaan SIA and Topsector ICT.
Professor Troy Nachtigall:
"Soon you’ll know exactly what materials your garment is made of, and who contributed to its creation, like the credits of a movie, but for your shirt."
The M-DPP project focuses specifically on verifying sustainability, compliance with sustainability standards, and the material composition of textile products throughout their entire lifecycle—including intensive use, washing, repair, and recycling. It uses a molecular fingerprint that makes it possible to track products.
Troy Nachtigall:
"A new reality is emerging: soon you’ll know exactly what materials your garment is made of, and who contributed to its creation—like the credits of a movie, but for your shirt. Within M-DPP, we are designing an ICT system based on molecular markers. This makes the entire process simpler for the wearer, maker, marketer, regulator, and recycler. And it aligns well with the European Ecodesign requirements for sustainable products."
Transparency about origin, production, and material composition not only supports compliance with sustainability rules but also makes recycling easier. In this way, the product passport becomes a crucial link in the shift toward a circular economy.
M-DPP – Collaboration
The M-DPP research project is part of a group of seven funded projects within the Digital Product Passports programme, which in total invests €2.7 million in practice-based research on circular chains in textiles, electronics, construction, and batteries.
Within this two-year project, the FR&T research group collaborates with the Responsible IT research group at AUAS, HAN University of Applied Sciences, and industry partners in fashion and textiles. Students from AUAS will also contribute to the project—for example, by supporting data collection.
DPP4CD
The FR&T research group is also involved in another project within the same programme: DPP4CD – Digital Product Passport(s) for Circular Denim: From Pilot to Practice. Led by Saxion University of Applied Sciences, this project focuses on implementing scalable digital product passports in the circular denim industry, and demonstrates how they can be used in supply chains.
"In DPP4CD, we’re developing an online system that keeps track of exactly how jeans are made. This means that during repair and recycling, we know exactly what we’re dealing with," says Troy Nachtigall.
Together, both projects make an important contribution to the circular ambitions of the fashion industry—and to a more sustainable Europe.