What Data Do You Actually Need for a Digital Product Passport?
A complete breakdown of every data field required for an EU Digital Product Passport for clothing — what it is, where you'll find it, and who you need to ask.
The Digital Product Passport has a clear data schema. The question isn't what fields exist in theory — the draft delegated acts are fairly specific. The question is: where does this data come from in practice, and who's responsible for collecting it?
Here's a field-by-field breakdown.
Required Fields for a Textile DPP
1. Unique Product Identifier
What it is: A UUID or similar unique code that identifies this specific product (not just the style — the specific SKU or item).
Where it comes from: You generate this. Your internal product database, Shopify product ID, or ERP system is the source.
Who's responsible: Your internal team or systems.
2. Fibre Composition
What it is: The material makeup of the garment, declared as a percentage by weight. The DPP requires this at the component level — outer shell, lining, interlining, etc. are declared separately.
Example:
Shell: 80% organic cotton, 20% recycled polyester
Lining: 100% recycled polyesterWhere it comes from: Your material specification sheets. If you don't have these, ask your manufacturer for the fabric testing data — woven fabrics are routinely tested for composition.
Who's responsible: Your manufacturing partners provide the lab test data; your team maps it to DPP format.
3. Country of Production
What it is: The country where the garment was cut and sewn (or otherwise assembled).
Where it comes from: Your supplier relationship. This is on your manufacturing contracts and purchase orders.
Who's responsible: Your sourcing or production team.
4. Country of Material Origin
What it is: Where the primary materials (fabrics, trims) were produced. This is distinct from country of production — a garment sewn in Portugal with Italian fabric has two different country fields.
Where it comes from: Your fabric suppliers. This requires asking your manufacturers where they source their materials, which may require them to ask their suppliers.
Who's responsible: This is the hardest field to collect — requires supplier communication two tiers upstream.
5. Care Instructions
What it is: Standard care codes (ISO 3758 — the wash/dry/iron symbols) and any plain-text care instructions.
Where it comes from: Your care label spec, which you or your technical team set.
Who's responsible: Your internal product development team.
6. Certifications
What it is: Any third-party certifications that are claimed in your marketing — GOTS, OEKO-TEX, Bluesign, Fair Trade, etc. The DPP requires the certification body, certificate number, and expiry date.
Where it comes from: Your certification provider. For GOTS this is your approved certification body; for OEKO-TEX it's your certificate from them directly.
Who's responsible: Your sustainability or compliance team, with input from your supply chain partners who hold the certifications.
7. Repair and Recycling Information
What it is: How can the garment be repaired? Can it be recycled, and via what stream? Does the brand offer take-back?
Where it comes from: You define this. It's a brand decision, not a supplier data point.
Who's responsible: Your product and sustainability teams.
The Data Difficulty Spectrum
| Field | Difficulty | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Unique product identifier | Easy | You already have this |
| Care instructions | Easy | On your labels |
| Country of production | Easy | In your contracts |
| Fibre composition | Medium | Needs lab test data |
| Certifications | Medium | Need cert numbers + expiry dates |
| Country of material origin | Hard | Requires tier-2 supplier data |
| Recycling instructions | Medium | Brand decision to make |
What Most Brands Are Missing
Most clothing brands have the easy and medium data already. The two gaps are:
-
Fibre composition at the component level — brands often have "80% cotton 20% polyester" but not the breakdown by garment component (shell vs lining vs padding). Ask for mill test reports.
-
Country of material origin — this requires your manufacturers to disclose where they source their materials. Some may resist for commercial reasons. Start building these relationships now.
The Format Problem
Having the data isn't enough — you need it in a structured, machine-readable format that maps to the DPP schema. Collecting it in a spreadsheet is better than nothing, but the DPP requires it to be accessible via URL with standard data formats.
This is where a dedicated DPP system (rather than a spreadsheet or manually maintained PDF) becomes necessary for brands with more than a few dozen SKUs.
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