Digital Product Passports: A New Shift for Europe’s Textile Industry

The textile industry is entering a phase in which the ability to provide product data may be just as important as manufacturing capacity. In Europe, requirements concerning durability, repairability, recycled material content and end-of-life recovery are gradually being incorporated into a common policy framework for sustainable product design. One tool expected to support this process is the Digital Product Passport.

This is not a traditional document accompanying each shipment. In essence, a Digital Product Passport is a collection of electronic data that enables parties across the value chain to access information related to a product. For textiles, the data may include fiber composition, the source of raw materials, information about the manufacturing process, care instructions, repairability, durability and options for handling the product at the end of its life cycle. The specific scope of the data will depend on the implementing regulations for each product group.

For manufacturers and exporters in Vietnam, the issue is not only a new technical requirement from the import market. This tool may change the way businesses collect, control and share data throughout the supply chain, from fiber, weaving, dyeing and finishing to garment manufacturing and distribution.

The EU Places Product Data at the Center of Its Sustainability Policy

The European Union has adopted the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, abbreviated as ESPR. This regulation expands the approach beyond a model focused solely on the energy efficiency of certain product groups. The objective of the ESPR is to establish a basis for setting requirements concerning durability, reusability, upgradability, repairability, maintenance, recyclability and efficient resource use for products within its scope.

The regulation also provides the legal foundation for Digital Product Passports. However, this does not mean that every product on the market must immediately have the same data set. Specific requirements must be established through subsequent legislation applying to each product group and type of criterion. Therefore, businesses should not view this tool as a single form that can be completed once for all orders.

The EU’s strategy for sustainable and circular textiles sets out a broader direction: textile products placed on the European market should be more durable, easier to repair and recycle, and produced under conditions that respect environmental and social requirements. In this context, data becomes a tool for demonstrating product characteristics rather than relying solely on marketing claims.

This creates a significant difference for businesses. A brand may state that a product uses recycled fibers, but to meet the requirements of customers and regulators, that information needs to be linked to appropriate evidence within the supply chain. If data is fragmented, inconsistent or impossible to trace, businesses will have difficulty demonstrating the origin and characteristics of their products.

What Types of Information Will a Digital Product Passport Contain?

There is currently no single data list that applies to all textile products. Nevertheless, based on the EU’s direction on sustainable products, several groups of information are likely to play an important role.

Material Composition and Raw Material Sources

The most basic information concerns the type of fiber and the proportion of each component in a product. A garment may be made from one type of fiber or a blend of several fibers, along with accessories such as buttons, zippers, sewing thread, coatings and decorative materials. These components affect the product’s reusability, disassembly and recyclability.

For recycled raw materials, the data needs to show what type of material was used and how it was verified. Businesses cannot rely solely on the commercial name of a material when customers require verifiable information. Linking information between fiber suppliers, textile manufacturers and garment makers will therefore become increasingly important.

Manufacturing and Supply Chain Information

A Digital Product Passport may increase the need to share information about manufacturing stages. Depending on the requirements for each product group, the data may relate to the place of production, facilities participating in the supply chain, material treatment processes or required environmental indicators.

This does not mean that businesses must disclose all their trade secrets. Rules concerning access rights, confidentiality and the responsibilities of each party will determine what information is provided to consumers, distributors, regulators or recycling operators. However, businesses still need to prepare sufficiently robust management systems to distinguish between data that must be disclosed, data shared subject to conditions and internal data.

Instructions for Use, Repair and Post-Consumer Handling

Information about washing, drying, storage and repair can help extend a product’s useful life. For the textile industry, this group of information has practical significance because care practices affect garment durability and resource consumption throughout the product life cycle.

At the end-of-life stage, data about a product’s composition and structure can support sorting activities. A product containing multiple blended fibers, difficult-to-remove accessories or special finishes often presents different requirements from a product with a simple construction. If the information is provided clearly, collection and processing operators have a better basis for selecting an appropriate approach.

The First Impact Will Appear in Data Management

For most textile businesses, the initial challenge may not be creating an identification code for a product, but determining reliable data from multiple suppliers. A product style typically passes through many stages and may involve changes in materials, suppliers or processes from one season to the next. If each department stores information differently, compiling data for a specific product will take considerable time and may easily lead to discrepancies.

Businesses need to begin by mapping data across the supply chain. This map should answer questions such as: What information is currently collected? Who is responsible for verification? Where is the data stored? When is it updated? And can raw material data be linked to the final product code?

For businesses that manufacture under order, access to data also depends on the requirements of brands and international customers. A factory may not be the party that determines the entire content of a Digital Product Passport, but it still has to provide accurate data about materials, processes, certifications and production capacity. As a result, investment in data management may become part of the capability required to retain orders.

Another issue is the difference between traceable data and verified data. Knowing which supplier provided a batch of yarn is not enough to prove every environmental attribute of the product. Data needs an appropriate verification method, must be updated and must be linked to source documentation. Otherwise, digitization merely transfers a poorly controlled record-keeping process to a new platform.

Opportunities for Businesses That Prepare Proactively

Digital Product Passports are often viewed as a compliance burden, but they can also create operational benefits. When material and process data is standardized, businesses can reduce the time needed to locate records, identify discrepancies between batches and help customers respond to requests concerning product origin.

Standardized information also helps businesses assess sources of waste in production. For example, data on defect rates, material consumption, processing time or accessory usage can support process improvements. This is an internal management benefit that does not depend entirely on how much information EU regulations will require businesses to disclose.

Businesses can also use life-cycle data to design products that are better aligned with circularity objectives. Reducing the number of blended fiber types, selecting accessories that are easy to remove or designing seams that facilitate repair may simplify post-consumer handling. However, these changes need to be assessed alongside requirements for quality, durability, safety and cost; it should not be assumed that a material described as “green” will automatically be suitable in every situation.

Sustainability Data Should Not Become Mere Marketing Claims

Developing a Digital Product Passport also requires caution regarding environmental claims. Terms such as “recycled,” “environmentally friendly” or “circular” need to be linked to a specific scope and concrete evidence. A product that uses some recycled material does not necessarily mean that the entire product can be recycled in every processing system.

Clearly distinguishing between data, certifications and commercial interpretations will help businesses limit the risk of misleading communications. Data should answer what characteristics the product has; certification indicates how those characteristics were verified; and marketing messages need to accurately express the limits of the evidence.

What Should Vietnamese Businesses Monitor?

For now, businesses should monitor the EU’s implementing legislation for textile products, the requirements of individual brands and the data standards accepted within the supply chain. They should not wait until customers impose mandatory requirements before beginning to collect information, because historical data is often difficult to add if suppliers have changed or records are no longer complete.

An appropriate preparation step could begin with several key export product groups. Businesses can create a material inventory, standardize terminology, identify control points and test the ability to link data from incoming raw materials to finished product codes. Working by product group enables businesses to identify data gaps without having to deploy a large system from the outset.

Alongside technology, businesses need to assign responsibilities clearly. The purchasing department holds supplier information; the technical and quality departments manage material characteristics; production controls the manufacturing stages; while the export or sustainability department may be responsible for compiling records according to customer requirements. Without a data owner, a digital platform will struggle to ensure accuracy.

A Digital Product Passport cannot solve the textile industry’s problems on its own. It does not replace efforts to reduce resource consumption, improve working conditions, control chemicals or build collection and recycling networks. Its primary role is to make product information more transparent and more usable in decisions concerning production, purchasing, use and processing.

For businesses participating in European supply chains, the most important trend is the shift from providing data in response to isolated requests toward building systematic data capabilities. As requirements for sustainable products continue to take concrete form, businesses with clear material records, reliable verification processes and consistent traceability will have an advantage in meeting customer expectations. Therefore, this is not only a new compliance tool, but also a test of the maturity of textile supply chain management.