What is the Digital Product Passport?
The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a digital record for an individual product, introduced by the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR, Reg. EU 2024/1781). The record is accessible through a data carrier on the product, such as a QR code, and contains information about the product's sustainability, circularity and compliance. The exact data requirements per product group are set in a delegated act. For textiles, the delegated act is expected in Q4 2027. After adoption, an implementation period of 18 months follows before the DPP requirements apply.
The knowledge gap and the clock
Most textile companies know the DPP is coming. Few know which data they must have ready, from which supplier, in which format, with which method. Preparing a DPP is a data project, and data projects take years when the supply chain has three to five tiers. The textile delegated act is expected in Q4 2027, with 18 months of implementation time after that. A company that begins to structure product-level data now has around three years. A company that waits for the delegated act has 18 months to collect data from every tier.
What data a textile DPP is expected to carry
The final list is set by the textile delegated act. Based on ESPR Article 7 and the published direction, the following categories are expected.
The environmental performance row is the one most SMEs cannot fill today. It cannot be copied from a supplier declaration. It must be calculated with a method that states its scope.
Which of this data an LCA produces
An LCA-based impact measurement produces the environmental performance data: impact per product, per impact category, per life cycle stage, with the method, system boundary and functional unit stated. For textiles this means, at minimum, global warming (kg CO₂-eq) and, because fibre production drives them, water use (L) and land use (m²), plus fossil resource use (MJ). The DPP will need this data in a structured form, for every product, not for a sample. That has two consequences for software choice.
- 1Scale. A collection has hundreds of products. The tool must handle bulk input and output.
- 2Integration. The data must move from the calculation tool into the DPP infrastructure without manual copying. An API is required.
Two kinds of DPP software, and how they connect
A textile SME does not need to build all three. It needs to choose a DPP infrastructure or traceability partner and connect an impact data source to it. Several traceability and DPP platforms already integrate bAwear Score results through its API for this purpose.
An LCA platform produces the impact data. A DPP platform carries it to the passport.
How an SME prepares now: four steps
- 1Structure product master data. One identifier per product, fibre composition, weight, production country per step. This is the input for both the passport and the impact calculation.
- 2Calculate indicative impact for the catalogue. Use bulk upload to produce a first indicative result per product with a stated method, boundary and functional unit. Find the hotspots.
- 3Improve data where it matters. Ask hotspot suppliers for primary data. Replace worst-case defaults. The DPP will reward data quality.
- 4Connect. Use the API to move results into the chosen DPP infrastructure, traceability or PLM system, so the passport record is filled automatically when the delegated act arrives.
Where bAwear Score fits
bAwear Score is an LCA-based environmental impact measurement platform for the textile and apparel industry, built by bAwear B.V. in the Netherlands and powered by SimaPro. It is the impact data source in a DPP setup, not the DPP infrastructure. It calculates product-level results using ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (Hierarchist) in line with ISO 14040/14044, reports global warming, fossil resource use, water use and land use per supply chain step across cradle-to-gate or cradle-to-grave, and states method, boundary and functional unit with every result. Bulk upload and a REST API exist specifically for DPP use cases, so results move into PLM, ERP, traceability and DPP systems without manual work. Quick Score gives indicative results for a full catalogue in minutes per product from more than 200 predefined scenarios. Expert gives reviewed results prepared for independent third-party review where a passport claim needs it. The final DPP data requirements for textiles are set in the ESPR delegated act, which is not yet adopted; bAwear Score is built in that direction.
Quick Score results are indicative and intended for internal decision support and reference product comparison. They do not replace a full ISO 14040/14044 LCA with critical review.
Frequently asked questions
- 1Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), in particular Articles 7 to 13 on the Digital Product Passport
- 2European Commission, ESPR working plan and textile delegated act (in preparation)
- 3ISO 14040:2006 and ISO 14044:2006
- 4ReCiPe 2016, RIVM, the Netherlands
