The passport your buyer will ask for
The EU Digital Product Passport, explained for Indian textile exporters.
A QR code on the garment. A data file behind it.
One scan opens a structured record: what the product is made of, who made it, what chemicals it carries, how to repair and recycle it.
You will not issue the passport. You will fill it.
The brand issues it. Nearly every field is composed from your data.
What's in the first wave.
In the first wave
Apparel: garments at least 80% textile by weight. 10 categories — t-shirts, shirts, sweaters, jackets, pants, dresses, leggings and socks, underwear, swimwear, accessories.
Out of the first wave
Intermediates: yarn, fabric, fibre. Home and household textiles: bed linen, towels, curtains. Excluded sub-types: smart and e-textiles, PPE, medical textiles, toys.
Not in scope does not mean not involved: yarn, fabric and processing data feed every garment passport downstream.
The spec-ambiguity excuse died in May.
The dates are set.
ESPR becomes EU law.
First working plan: textiles top of the priority list.
JRC publishes the draft apparel data blueprint: 49 data points.
First six European DPP standards published (EN 18216–18223).
Central DPP registry due. Two days after Bharat Tex ends. Same day: EU ban on destroying unsold clothing.
Textile delegated act expected. Adoption, not a compliance deadline.
Obligations at least 18 months after adoption: the 2028–29 collections. An estimate until the act is adopted.
Brands wire supplier data pipelines in the 2026–27 development cycles. The suppliers in those pipes get the 2028 orders.
Battery passports: mandatory 18 Feb 2027. The DPP machine already runs.
Know where you stand.
Two minutes for a readiness score. The guide covers the rest: the data points, the misconceptions, who is already moving.
Find your place in the chainData points shown follow the EU Joint Research Centre's draft recommendations (13 May 2026). The textile delegated act is not yet adopted; final requirements may differ.
