Digital Product Passport for Textiles: Timeline, Data and Labels

Every garment sold in the EU will, in the coming years, carry a key to a digital record about itself: what it is made of, where it comes from, how to care for it, repair it and recycle it. That record is the Digital Product Passport (DPP), and the key will in most cases be a code on a label. The rules are not final yet, which is exactly why this is a good moment to plan. This guide sets out what is decided, what is expected and what brands can do with their labels today.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Dates and requirements below reflect public information as of October 2026 and may change.

The legal basis: ESPR, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) entered into force on 18 July 2024. It is a framework: it does not itself set requirements for a particular product, but allows the European Commission to adopt delegated acts for product groups. These acts can set performance requirements (durability, recycled content, repairability and more) and information requirements, including a Digital Product Passport.

In its ESPR working plan for 2025–2030, published in April 2025, the Commission named textiles, with apparel first, among the priority product groups. Textiles are one of the largest consumer product categories in Europe and a focus of the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles.

Timeline: what is decided and what is expected

Treat every date after 2026 in this table as provisional. The delegated act will fix the exact scope, data and deadlines, and may also include transitional rules for smaller companies.

What a textile product passport is likely to hold

ESPR gives a menu of information that a delegated act can require. For textiles, preparatory work and public discussion point to data such as:

• a unique product identifier and the identity of the manufacturer or importer;
• fibre composition, including recycled content;
• substances of concern present in the product;
• care, repair and reuse information;
• durability characteristics;
• guidance for sorting, disassembly and recycling at end of life;
• compliance documents and certificates.

Still open: whether the passport is set at model, batch or individual-item level; who can read which data (consumers, authorities, recyclers); and how long the passport must remain online. These choices will affect whether every garment needs its own unique code or one code per style is enough.

The data carrier: a code on the product

ESPR requires each passport to be reachable through a data carrier linked to a unique identifier and physically present on the product, its packaging or accompanying documents, as the delegated act specifies. ESPR does not prescribe one technology; European standardisation work has produced standards for data carriers, identifiers and interoperability. For textiles, the QR code is the most practical candidate: any smartphone reads it, it can be printed or woven, and it adds very little to the cost of a label. NFC and RFID tags are possible as additional carriers.

A good passport code points to a short, stable web address rather than storing the data itself. The data behind it can then be updated without reprinting labels. Many brands base this address on their existing product numbers, for example GTINs used in EAN barcodes.

Where to place the code

The carrier has to stay with the product and remain readable, so placement matters more than design:

On the care label

The natural home. The care label is sewn in, expected to last as long as the garment and already holds the composition. A QR code printed on polyester satin or taffeta tape next to the care symbols adds the digital layer without an extra component. Our care labels can be laid out with a code panel.

On a separate QR label

A dedicated small woven or printed label keeps the code away from dense multilingual text and gives it its own quiet zone. Woven codes are extremely robust but need more space, because thread resolution is coarser than print.

As a heat transfer

For tagless sportswear and babywear, a code can be applied with the heat transfer neck print.

On the hang tag

Useful for marketing content and in-store scans, but removed after purchase. A hang tag code is a good addition, not a substitute for a permanent carrier.

Will the code survive washing?

A passport code is meant to work for repair shops, second-hand platforms and sorting centres years after purchase. That means it must survive the treatment shown on the care label. Three factors decide:

• Base and print method – resin thermal-transfer print on satin or taffeta, or a high-density woven code, holds up far better than ink on cotton.
• Size and contrast – dark code on a light background, a clear quiet zone around it and a module size large enough for fabric texture.
• Error correction – a medium or higher error-correction level tolerates minor wear and creasing.

We recommend scanning samples after repeated washes at the declared temperature before you approve bulk. Size guidance for QR codes on different label types is listed on our QR and DPP-ready labels page.

What brands can do now

1. Collect your data. Composition, recycled content, supplier and origin data, care and repair information. Most of the work behind a passport is data, not printing.
2. Assign identifiers. Decide how you will identify each product – by style, batch or item – and keep it consistent across systems.
3. Reserve space on your labels. When you redesign a care label anyway, leave room for a code panel so you do not need new artwork later.
4. Pilot with one line. Put a QR code linking to a product page with care and composition information on one collection, and test scanning after washing.
5. Keep URLs permanent. Use a domain and link structure you control, so printed codes keep working whichever passport service you later choose.
6. Follow the delegated act. Data fields and carrier rules will be set there; plan for adjustments.

If your collections carry recycled-content claims, the documentation you keep for them will also feed the passport; see our article on recycled labels and GRS.

Frequently asked questions