What Data Should Be Included in a Digital Product Passport?

The regulation does not leave data selection to chance. Several forces are converging:

• EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) mandates product-level transparency across categories, starting with textiles, batteries and electronics.
• AGEC law (France, already in force) requires traceability and environmental disclosure for goods sold on the French market — a precursor to broader EU rules.
• Consumer demand for provenance and sustainability claims backed by evidence, not marketing copy.
• Grey market and counterfeiting losses running into billions annually across luxury, spirits, and cosmetics — making authentication data a commercial necessity, not a compliance afterthought.
• Retailer and distributor requirements increasingly filtering suppliers by data readiness.

Brands that treat the DPP as a checkbox exercise will publish the minimum. Brands that treat it as infrastructure will embed data that protects revenue, builds trust, and outlasts the first audit cycle.

A Digital Product Passport is a structured, item-level digital record linked to a single physical product. It carries standardised data about that product’s identity, composition, origin, environmental impact, and end-of-life options. The passport travels with the product across its entire lifecycle from factory floor to consumer, through resale or recycling.

The critical distinction: a DPP is not a product page or a marketing microsite. It is a regulated, machine-readable data carrier tied to one serialised unit, not a SKU, not a batch, but one item.

The data must be accessible via a digital link on or in the product. NFC tags, QR codes, or UHF markers serve as the physical bridge between the object and its passport.

The regulation defines broad data categories. Implementation requires specificity. Below is a practical breakdown of the data fields brands should plan for, mapped to the ESPR framework and current delegated acts.

Mandatory Identification Data

Data Field	Description	Example
Unique product identifier	Serialised ID at item level	UUID or GS1 Digital Link
Manufacturer identity	Legal name, registered address, facility	Selinko NV, Belgium
Product model / SKU	Commercial reference	Model X-200, Ref. 4451
GTIN / batch / lot	Standard trade identification	GTIN-14 + lot code
Date of manufacture	Production timestamp	2026-09-14
Country of origin	Final assembly or production location	Italy

Material Composition and Substance Data

This layer answers: what is the product made of, and does it contain substances of concern?

• Full bill of materials (BoM) at a level proportionate to the product category.
• SCIP database declarations for substances of very high concern (SVHC).
• Percentage of recycled content by weight.
• Presence of restricted chemicals (REACH compliance).

Environmental and Circularity Data

• Carbon footprint (cradle-to-gate or cradle-to-grave, depending on category).
• Energy consumption during use phase (where applicable).
• Durability and repairability scores.
• Disassembly instructions or recycling pathway.
• Expected product lifespan.

Supply Chain and Provenance Data

• Key transformation steps (tanning, weaving, assembly, finishing).
• Supplier certifications (ISO 14001, FSC, GOTS, etc.).
• Chain-of-custody records for critical raw materials.

Authentication and Integrity Data

• Cryptographic proof of origin (e.g., digitally signed tag data).
• Anti-tampering indicators.
• Ownership transfer history.

Embedding a DPP requires a physical-digital bridge that survives the product’s lifecycle. NFC is the most practical option for premium goods. Here is how the process works:

1. Tag encoding at production. Each NFC tag receives a unique digital identity during manufacturing  typically on the production line using dedicated hardware. The tag is linked to the product’s passport record in the cloud platform.
2. Data population. The passport is populated with material, environmental, and provenance data  either manually or via integration with ERP, PLM, and supply chain systems.
3. Embedding. The NFC tag is physically integrated into the product: sewn into a garment, placed inside a bottle cap, embedded in a watch case, or bonded to packaging.
4. Consumer access. Any NFC-enabled smartphone (iOS or Android) reads the tag with a tap. No app download required the passport opens in the browser or via native App Clip / Instant App.
5. Lifecycle updates. The passport can be updated post-sale: ownership transfers, repair records, resale authentication, end-of-life instructions. The tag remains the constant link.

Both technologies can deliver a Digital Product Passport. The right choice depends on the product category, price point, and security requirement.

Criterion	NFC	Serialised QR Code
Authentication strength	High — cryptographic chip, hard to clone	Lower — image can be copied or reprinted
Durability	Embedded, survives wear and use	Surface-printed, vulnerable to abrasion
Consumer interaction	Tap (no camera, no app)	Scan (requires camera app)
Cost per unit	Higher (tag + encoding)	Lower (print only)
Data capacity on carrier	Moderate (URL + crypto signature)	Moderate (URL-based)
Best fit	Luxury, spirits, watches, leather goods	FMCG, packaging, lower-price-point textiles

For categories where brand protection and anti-counterfeiting matter as much as compliance, NFC provides both the regulatory data layer and a tamper-resistant authentication layer in a single tag.

Different product categories face different delegated acts and different commercial realities. The data emphasis shifts accordingly.

• Wine and spirits
  Origin, grape/grain provenance, bottling date, allergen data, alcohol content, lot traceability. Authentication is critical for single malts, aged spirits, and limited editions where counterfeiting is endemic.
• Luxury fashion and leather goods
  Material sourcing (leather tannery, textile mill), SVHC declarations, repairability instructions, ownership history for resale authentication. The DPP doubles as a certificate of authenticity.
• Cosmetics and fragrance
  Ingredient lists (INCI), batch-level allergen data, packaging recyclability, cruelty-free certifications. Regulatory alignment with both ESPR and existing cosmetics regulation (EC 1223/2009).
• Watches and jewellery
  Precious metal provenance, conflict mineral declarations (EU Conflict Minerals Regulation), serial-level service history, warranty status.
• Furniture
  Wood origin and FSC certification, flame retardant declarations, disassembly and recycling instructions, expected lifespan, repairability score.

A Digital Product Passport built on complete, accurate, item-level data delivers measurable outcomes:

• Regulatory readiness: Compliance with ESPR, AGEC, and category-specific delegated acts before enforcement deadlines.
• Counterfeit and grey market defence: Cryptographic authentication at the unit level, verifiable by any stakeholder in the chain.
• Consumer trust: Transparency backed by data, not by claims, accessible with a single tap.
• Resale and circular economy enablemen: Verified product history supports second-hand markets and take-back programmes.
• Operational intelligence: Item-level data flowing back from the field informs quality, logistics, and product development.

The brands that start structuring their data now:  mapping fields, integrating systems, encoding tags at production, will be ready when the regulation lands. The ones that wait will be retrofitting under pressure.