Digital Product Passports, explained.

The EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a standardised digital file attached to a physical product. It stores structured data — materials, certifications, carbon footprint, care instructions, end-of-life guidance — and links it to the product via a scannable data carrier like a QR code or NFC tag.

DPPs are mandated under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which the EU adopted in 2024. The goal: make product sustainability data publicly available and machine-readable so the EU can accelerate circularity, reduce waste, and help consumers make informed choices.

Design choices shape much of a product's environmental impact. Passports aim to make relevant product information available to consumers, repairers, recyclers and authorities when they need it.

The required fields vary by product category, but a typical DPP includes:

• Product name, model, and unique identifier (UID)
• Manufacturer name, registered address, and contact
• Country of origin and production site
• Material composition (e.g. 60% organic cotton, 40% recycled polyester)
• Hazardous substances and restricted chemicals
• Durability and repairability score
• Care instructions
• Recycling and end-of-life guidance
• Carbon footprint (where mandated)
• Certifications and labels (e.g. GOTS, OEKO-TEX)

ESPR mandates roll out by category. The European Commission publishes delegated acts for each group; by the compliance date, every product in that category sold in the EU must have a DPP.

Planned act dates follow the European Commission’s indicative DPP timeline as of October 2026. They are not compliance deadlines. Verify the final act for your category.

A DPP connects a data carrier (often a QR code) to a digital record. Where the carrier belongs and which fields or identifiers the record needs depend on the product rules. A passport can contain materials, certifications, care and repair information where relevant.

With productpasses.com, you get both automatically: a unique URL at productpasses.com/p/your-product and a print-ready QR code. No infrastructure to maintain, no data hosting to set up.