For many companies the digital product passport arrived as yet another obligation. For a brand that works well, with a supply chain it knows and is proud of, it is the opposite: the most direct way to show customers what lies behind a garment.
A QR code customers open themselves
Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, the ESPR, requires the passport to be reachable through a data carrier, such as a QR code, placed on the product. Scanning it with a phone gives access to the information: one of the stated aims is to help consumers make informed choices. Which data will be mandatory for apparel will be set by the textiles delegated act, not yet adopted.
This means every garment will have a direct point of contact with the person who buys it, and the brand can decide how to present itself at that moment.
Showing instead of claiming
Since 27 September 2026, under Legislative Decree 30/2026, generic environmental claims that cannot be substantiated are unfair commercial practices in Italy. Words such as “green” or “sustainable”, without evidence, can no longer be used.
The passport turns the problem around: instead of an adjective, it shows the facts. Who spun, wove and made up the garment, where, with which materials and which certificates. Every piece of information has a source, and the customer can read it.
Why it matters most to smaller brands
A large group has to trace thousands of items per collection, and the passport weighs on it as a burden. An independent brand that makes few pieces with a short, often entirely Italian supply chain has a precise story to tell, and now an official tool to tell it.
- The supply chain becomes the story. The names of the workshops, mills and hands that made the garment are its value, not a detail to hide.
- Informed customers find answers. Anyone asking where a garment comes from finds it on the tag, without having to take it on trust.
- The price explains itself. A visible supply chain makes it clear why a garment costs what it costs.
What to tell
The information that matters most to buyers is also the simplest: where the raw materials come from, the processing steps and where they took place, the composition with the certificates behind it, care and repair instructions. Everything published must be documented: the passport works as a story precisely because every piece of data can be checked.
Where to start
- Pick one or two representative garments and rebuild their supply chain, tier by tier.
- Gather the documents behind each step: certificates, technical sheets, suppliers.
- Choose the tone: the passport speaks in the brand’s voice, not a form’s.
- Plan where the QR code will go on the garment, so it stays readable for its whole life.