Clothes Get a Resume | The EU Digital Product Passport

It looks likely that every item of clothing sold in the EU market will soon come with its own “resume.”

The ESPR framework

The basis for this is the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781). It was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on June 28, 2024, and entered into force on July 18 of the same year. What had previously been a “directive” has been upgraded to a “regulation,” meaning it applies directly without waiting for each member state to transpose it into national law.

ESPR calls for requirements such as the following.

• Durability
• Reliability
• Repairability
• Percentage of recycled materials used

Digital Product Passport (DPP)

The tool prepared to communicate this information to consumers is the Digital Product Passport. It is described as a system that electronically compiles information on a product’s environment, materials, repair, and disposal, and makes it accessible to stakeholders across the supply chain through QR codes or electronic tags.

Textile products are expected in 2027

For textile products, exactly what must be disclosed and to what extent will be determined by separate delegated acts within the ESPR framework. At present, their adoption is expected in 2027 is expected.

If brands are required to “write down” repairability and the percentage of recycled materials, they first need to make products in a way that allows those details to be written down. Labeling systems often end up changing the design itself.

On where Japan’s clothing goes this article here.

References: European Union, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Japanese Standards Association

—The Value Village Editorial Team