The announcement of the digital product passport deployment coincides with the EU Parliament getting closer to passing rules meant to lessen the fashion industry's environmental impact.
Within the framework of its negotiations for the ecodesign framework, the EU Commission is putting up measures guaranteed by longer product lifespans and more informed consumers, reported Just Style.
High on the agenda is the inclusion of a digital product passport that provides accurate and current information to promote transparency and empower customers to make knowledgeable purchase decisions.
This summer, a proposal was presented that focused on pushing quick fashion—quite frankly—out of style. It received support from 600 MEPs.
While some trade bodies have expressed concern about certain elements of the proposal – such as it could make the EU fashion sector less competitive, could increase dependency on foreign supplies and fails to recognise the difference between technical textiles and fashion – most are of the agreement change is necessary.
And several companies have already pressed forward with plans to introduce a digital passport.
Pangaia has collaborated with Archive, a branded resale platform, and tech company EON, to introduce Pangaia ReWear, a peer-to-peer, digital passport-enabled resale initiative.
The digital IDs will enable customers to scan their items and access product details and environmental impact information, facilitating circular services.
In the meantime, the ethical clothing line Nobody's Child, in partnership with Ferne Cotton, is introducing Digital Product Passports (DPPs) for its Nobody's Child x Happy Place Collection. The items will be sold at M&S, Asos, and John Lewis.
"Digital product passports are the future," stated Richard Price, managing director of apparel and home at M&S. "We welcome the opportunity for customers to engage with the unique Nobody's Child QR codes in our selected stores."
The fact that both releases came out so soon after one another suggests that the fashion industry is taking this challenge head-on and is aware that laws requiring compliance will soon be in place.
And service providers are also proving their readiness to rise to the occasion such as TrusTrace which is participating in Trace4Value’s pilot project that encourages sustainable production, the facilitation of the transition to a circular economy and helps consumers to make sustainable choices.
TrusTrace co-founder and CEO, Shameek Ghosh says the project will allow it to explore the opportunities and challenges the DPP will entail for textile and fashion companies, ultimately helping the entire industry comply with this new directive before 2030.
According to Shameek Ghosh, co-founder and CEO of TrusTrace, the initiative will enable them to investigate the opportunities and difficulties that the DPP will present for textile and apparel businesses, ultimately assisting the industry as a whole in complying with this new requirement by 2030.
It is anyone's guess as to what that actually looks like in practice, that is, once the DPPs are completely implemented. Will the cost of the products increase? Will buyers be aware of this and prepared to shell out extra money to guarantee a fashion item that is created more sustainably and ethically? What will the rollout mean for manufacturers of fast fashion moving forward?
If the past week is any indication, change is definitely on the way, and it's happening quickly. Get ready for what may be a brief but rough journey.