Join the survey on the Digital Product Passport for textiles

What does a workable and reliable Digital Product Passport (DPP) for textiles look like in practice? Within the NewTexEco project on the Digital Product Passport, researchers and professionals from the textile chain are jointly investigating which information is actually needed, feasible and usable.

The first round of Delphi research within the M-DPP project has now been completed. Experts from across the textile chain shared their experiences, concerns and expectations around the introduction of the DPP. Now Round 2 is starting and for this, input from the field is needed again.

The questionnaire for Round 2 is now open. Participation takes about 20 minutes.

The first round shows that many participants see the same challenge: the gap between what the regulations require from 2027 and what the industry can realistically deliver in the short term is large. Especially in the areas of data quality, verification and standardisation, many questions still exist.

Information on fibre composition and safety is often present somewhere in the chain, but rarely travels fully with the product. Supplier declarations are currently the main source of information, while at the same time their reliability is in doubt.

For recycled fibres, the situation proves extra complex. Compositions differ from batch to batch, while regulations often require the same accuracy as for virgin materials.

Many companies have limited visibility into their supply chain beyond Tier 1 suppliers. Thereby, changing suppliers, varying data requests and limited digital capacity create additional pressure. Standardisation of formats is seen by almost all participants as a crucial prerequisite for workable DPP systems.

The term ‘recyclable’ proves difficult to define unambiguously in practice. Recyclers especially need detailed product information, such as composition, construction and chemical treatments applied. A simple yes/no label does not provide enough information for that.

Participants stress that production location often says more about environmental impact than transport distance. Differences in energy mix between countries play a big role in this. For many companies, estimated transport steps and origin information seem more realistic than fully product-specific transport data for the time being.

Based on the insights from Round 1, the research team prepared a set of statements. In Round 2, participants are asked to indicate the extent to which they agree or disagree with these statements and provide additional nuance where necessary.

With this next step, the project aims to move further towards shared insights on what is needed to make the Digital Product Passport workable and valuable for the textile sector.

More information on the project and previous intermediate results can be found at:

• M-DPP project website
• Outputs and intermediate results

Any questions? Contact us at: mdpp-fdmci@hva.nl

Image credits in news release: Saxion