Digital Product Passports in the Textile Industry: Implications and Opportunities
News
How can a Digital Product Passport function within the complex supply chain of the textile industry? That question was central during the second workshop of the Industry Living Lab series within the Molecular Digital Physical Product Passport (M-DPP) project. In early March, researchers, technology partners and companies from across the sector came together to share experiences and discuss what information and systems are needed to make product information more transparent and reliable in the future.
The workshop brought together different stakeholders from the textile value chain. By combining academic knowledge with practical industry experience, the project aims to gain a better understanding of both the opportunities and the challenges involved in developing Digital Product Passports.
Project leader Lyske de Bildt emphasised the importance of this collaboration:
“Where sustainability is often still a narrative today, we are moving towards a system in which claims can actually be validated.”
What do Digital Product Passports mean for the textile sector?
Digital Product Passports (DPPs) are expected to become an important part of new European regulations designed to increase transparency and circularity in product value chains. For the textile sector, this means that information about materials, production processes and product origins will need to become more accessible and exchangeable.
During the workshop, participants discussed what such a digital passport could look like in practice. What information is required? Who collects the data? And how can the system remain workable for companies operating within international and often complex supply chains?
Challenges around data and supply chain transparency
During interactive sessions, participants shared their practical experiences. One of the biggest challenges is collecting and sharing information throughout the supply chain. Data on materials and production processes is often held by different suppliers, spread across multiple countries and systems.
Participants also discussed how Digital Product Passports can be implemented without creating excessive administrative burdens. The goal is to develop systems that support transparency and circularity while remaining practical and feasible for companies of different sizes, including smaller businesses.
“Transparency only works if it’s verifiable and practical. Digital Product Passports can move us from marketing claims to verified data points that prove the ‘uniqueness’ of the product — and sometimes show that what was claimed as ‘unique’ is actually the same process and supply chain repeated. Combining passports with physical fibre verification helps shift the industry from backward investigations with suppliers to forward propagation of production data.” - Neda Eneva, Brand & Marketing Lead at BYBORRE
New technology for more reliable product information
A distinctive aspect of the M-DPP project is that digital product information is combined with molecular analysis technology. With this technology, the composition of textile fibres can be examined, allowing material information to be verified.
By linking digital data with physical verification, the project aims to contribute to more reliable product information and improved traceability of materials in the textile value chain.
Learning together in an Industry Living Lab
The workshop is part of a broader Industry Living Lab approach. In such an environment, companies, researchers and designers collaborate on new solutions. By directly connecting research, technology and practical experience, the project aims to develop solutions that can be applied in the sector more quickly.
Insights from the workshops will be further developed in the coming months within the M-DPP system. In this way, the project helps the textile sector prepare for the introduction of Digital Product Passports and for a future with greater transparency and a more circular textile value chain.
