2027 is just around the corner – at least for everyone in the fashion, footwear and textiles sectors. In July 2024, the EU-wide Digital Product Passport (DPP) requirement passed into law, which means it’s time to act now.
You’ll need QR (Quick Response) codes on garments, footwear and anything where textile is used to ensure that the transition is painless, and that stock in the EU won’t get returned to you in 2027.
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ToggleWhat are Digital Product Passports?
Digital Product Passports (DPPs) are digital documents that provide full and detailed information about a product throughout its entire lifecycle – which you don’t get with just a barcode.
On the garment or shoe itself, the digital document is represented by a QR code. Customers scan these and are taken to webpages – homepages or product pages, for example.
Those QR codes will be found on the care labels, hang tags, and shoe boxes – anywhere customers can easily find and scan them. The great thing about DPPs is that even if you don’t have every single product detail available now, they can be added over time as you get that information and as circular economy technology evolves.
What are QR codes?
These two-dimensional matrix codes, scanned typically by smartphone apps and cameras, can hold more information than barcodes – over 3,000 characters compared to 20-25. They’re useful marketing and information-sharing tools. Instead of spending more on printed materials, you could have an entire document optimised for reading on a small device using a QR code. You can monitor how many people are scanning them, too.
What’s in a Digital Product Passport?
DPPs are required by law to show a wide range of information, from product origin and material composition to the manufacturing process, environmental impact, and how to reuse, repair, or dispose of the item.
They can include just the essential content you need to remain compliant, or any level of detail you wish your customers to know.
Do consumers care about seeing this information?
Yes, they do. There’s been a positive response to seeing this level of detail, which has led to enhanced engagement through the QR codes and digital interfaces. Consumers want more information about the products they buy.
Think of this not merely as compliance but as a brand-new marketing channel that doesn’t cost any PPC (Pay Per Click)!
What are the benefits of DPPs, and why are they important?
DPPs are designed to enhance supply chain transparency, support sustainability, and promote a circular economy by enabling better tracking and management of products. They can be integrated into existing systems – so they’re not difficult to implement, and they’re dynamic, allowing for regular updates to reflect changes in product composition and regulations.
Digital Product Passports also support compliance with the Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP), which is an initiative by the European Commission aimed at transforming the EU into a circular economy, and a cornerstone of the EU Green Deal to create a cleaner and more competitive Europe.
DPPs help with Extended Producer Responsibility EPR) compliance in 2027 and beyond by helping to streamline data reporting for EPR – making it easier to comply with an already complex and evolving legislation.
What is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)?
EPR regulations make producers (everyone who makes and sells packaging and packaged goods) responsible for the environmental impact of their products throughout the entire lifecycle, from design to disposal. At the time of writing, these regulations apply in the UK, Germany, Spain, France and Austria. This scope is only set to grow within the EU.
(There’s even talk of EPR-style regulations being implemented in California – which sellers into the US might want to keep an eye on.)
What are the benefits of EPR compliance for e-commerce sellers?
With the rise in awareness of sustainability and transparency around how products are made, in fashion in particular and e-commerce in general, displaying how and where your products are made positively affects your brand in the eyes of your customers – and encourages them to adopt sustainable behaviours.
Of course, compliance with environmental regulations is a legal obligation, but the laws aim to also save money through using resources more efficiently and reducing waste overall.
Want to know more about EPR?
We take you through EPR in more detail in our ‘Understanding EPR’ guide. You can also watch our full ‘EPR Made Easy’ series on YouTube for an expert walkthrough of all the top points sellers need to know.
DPPs aren’t mandatory until 2027 – so why do sellers need to set them up now?
As we mentioned at the top, it’s now an EU-wide requirement, and because in fashion retail especially, planning ahead is essential.
If you’re selling into the EU or UK, or are planning to expand your business into the EU or UK from anywhere in the world, you should be planning to have the QR codes on your footwear and/or garments already; products going to market in 2026 will very likely be on sale into 2027.
It’s simple to be ready today, but it’s far more difficult to play catch-up later (think back to the marketplace GPSR compliance issues in late 2024).
What’s the DPP timeline?
The very simplified timeline for Stage 1 looks like this:
- 2024-2025: EC DPP commences; initial meetings, onboarding and data gathering; issuing iQR codes
- 2025-2026: Buyerdock populate their portal; labelling; getting upcoming product ready with DPPs; getting packaging ready
- 2026-2027: In-store distribution of products; GS1 Sunrise 2027
Alternatively, you could do nothing for now – but locating all your stock in the EU and retrofitting QR codes will take more time and money than if you start moving to DPPs now.
How do you get this all set up? This is where companies like Buyerdock can help.
Who are Buyerdock?
Buyerdock specialises in implementing digital product passports using GS1 global standards (including the GS1 2027 standard that all major retailers are working to, which requires a QR to act exactly like a barcode, for example, beeping at checkout).
They make the supply chain visible to consumers, giving them options to dispose of products at the end of the lifecycle, and supporting more considerate consumption. Buyerdock’s consumer app is itself a marketing tool. Some brands are tracking engagement in 105 countries, with the most popular tile on the app being ‘how to’ use a product.
They also support sellers with legally compliant product recycling logos for products sold today in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. The rest of the EU is following fast. No logo, no legal sale.
The platform generates GS1-compliant QR codes with serialisation on each of your products now, enabling you to access and build product data to suit a full timeline of what to do and when.
If you need QR codes retrofitted, that’s possible too (albeit a great deal more work, such as finding and locating stock in warehouses and retailers in Europe and overlabelling before the deadline).
In any case, the best time to implement DPPs is now. Learn more about Buyerdock to book a demo and see how they can help you.
DPPs are essential – start preparing for 2027 today
Digital Product Passports support compliance with the EU Green Deal, and with data reporting for the ever-changing EPR compliance requirements in 2027 and beyond.
This is a priority for fashion, textiles and footwear sellers, as these are the first categories required in the EU. DPPs will enhance transparency, boost consumer trust, and ensure regulatory compliance – and setting these up now ensures smooth trading, as your products won’t be sent back to you in 2027.
Good for the planet, good for your brand, good for business!
Does your business need help with EPR compliance?
Keep your business green and compliant – we’ll lead you through the whole Extended Producer Responsibility journey when you register. Learn more and contact us today.
