In an era where sustainability and transparency are no longer optional, Digital Product Passports (DPPs) are emerging as a transformative tool for businesses across Europe and beyond. But what exactly are they and why should brands start preparing now? Here’s a breakdown of what DPPs are, how they work, and why preparing early will give brands a competitive edge.
What are Digital Product Passports?
A Digital Product Passport is a scannable digital record that contains detailed information about a product’s lifecycle. Although the exact requirements have yet to be determined by the EU commission, it is expected to include information relating to the products materials, origin, environmental impact, repairability, and end-of-life options. Typically accessed via a QR code, NFC chip, or watermark embedded in the product, DPPs offer instant transparency to consumers, regulators, and supply chain partners.
The initiative stems from the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which came into force in 2024. While the UK has yet to mandate DPPs, businesses exporting to the EU will need to comply by 2027, or risk losing access to key markets.
Which industries will be first?
The first industries to face mandatory DPP requirements include:
- Textiles
- Consumer electronics
- Batteries
- Construction materials
These industries are being prioritised due to their environmental footprint and complex supply chains. By 2030, DPPs are expected to apply to nearly all physical products sold in the EU.
Why should businesses care?
Beyond compliance, DPPs can offer strategic advantages to organisations such as:
Affiliation and partnerships – Brands can use DPPs to provide verified product data that supports repairability, refurbishment, and resale. This can open up new revenue streams and strengthen partnerships with circular economy platforms, while also extending product lifecycles
Consumer ROI and reengagement – DPPs offer brands a unique opportunity to guide consumers back to their platform, whether for a new purchase or to explore preloved items. By embedding product data that highlights sustainability, authenticity, and value; brands can foster deeper loyalty and encourage repeat engagement
Operational efficiency – DPPs promote consistent and structured product information across the supply chain. This improves interoperability between systems, simplifies regulatory reporting, and lays the groundwork for more effective use of automation and analytics
Meet Bombiix: Preparing brands for DPP readiness
One company helping businesses navigate this transition is Bombiix, a next-generation Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) platform. Bombiix enables organisations to capture, structure, and share product data in line with emerging DPP standards. From material sourcing to end-of-life tracking, Bombiix offers solutions designed by a team that truly understands the product lifecycle.
Our UK sustainability team spoke with Lucy, the CPO and founder of Bombiix to get their perspective on the future of DPPs:
What inspired you to build Bombiix, and how does it address the challenges businesses face with DPP compliance?
Bombiix was built out of a frustration that product people weren’t provided with the tools that they needed in order to do their job. Every product on the market was built by tech and finance people and not people that had handled products from concept to production and beyond.
When it came to the DPP coming about, it felt like Bombix was made for this very time period because the majority of the stuff we already had and it was quite easy for us to link it all up and automate digital product passports through use of PLM.
If not using the PLM, obviously, we can then bulk upload data, but equally, it removes the need for additional heads as people get to the DPP because people without knowing that they’re doing it can automatically generate these DPPs off the back of how and when they’re developing products.
How do you see Digital Product Passports evolving over the next five years, and what role will platforms like Bombiix play in that journey?
Over the next five years, product passports, I believe, will enter every single category, including exempt categories right now, which are food. People are wanting healthier lifestyles, they’re wanting to do the right thing, and I believe that how they buy will be determined by the digital product passport.
For the first time ever, the buyers have power because they are aware of what’s going on behind the scenes. I For example, if they pick two shirts and scan one of them and scan the other, they can see why potentially one of the businesses are in business and why they do what they do, it’s their USP.
Of course, businesses are there to monetise, however, if you’re just there to monetise without creating a USP or having a point of view and a reason for existing in the first place, I think consumer confidence will be lost.
What advice would you give to UK businesses just beginning their DPP readiness journey?
Whether or not you use a PLM, data is very much at the forefront. So being very strict on how you format your data, how it’s received, and then it will be incredibly easy to repurpose it.
If everything is on multiple sheets, emails, PDFs, with no single source of truth, that is when people will start to create really bad examples.
The DPP is just around the corner for the legislation that’s impending, and if people don’t have that, when they try and play catch-up later on down the line, they will really struggle, whereas if they start this way and get their data in order, they’ll have a very easy transition to a seamless digital product passport.
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