Digital Product Passport for Textiles — EU ESPR & What Fashion Brands Need to Know

Textile DPP Software for Fashion Brands & Clothing Sellers — EU ESPR 2024/1781

Updated: July 2026. The EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR, EU 2024/1781) establishes the legal framework for Digital Product Passports (DPPs) across a wide range of product categories, with textiles and apparel identified as a priority sector. This guide explains what a Digital Product Passport for textiles means, what the ESPR framework requires, what is already legally applicable, and how fashion brands and clothing sellers — including non-EU sellers — can prepare.

What Is a Digital Product Passport for Textiles?

A Digital Product Passport (DPP) for textiles is a structured digital record linked to a physical product via a QR code, barcode, or RFID tag. It contains machine-readable and human-readable information about the product's material composition, durability, repairability, recycled content, carbon footprint, supply chain origin, and end-of-life instructions. The DPP is designed to make sustainability information available to consumers, recyclers, and EU market surveillance authorities throughout the product's lifecycle.

Under ESPR, a textile DPP is not simply a marketing label — it is a data carrier that must meet specific technical requirements defined in delegated acts adopted by the European Commission. The DPP must be accessible via a standardised data carrier (typically a QR code) on the product and its packaging, and the underlying data must be stored in a system that complies with EU data interoperability requirements.

Do Textiles Already Require a Digital Product Passport?

As of July 2026, textiles do not yet have a legally mandatory Digital Product Passport requirement. The ESPR framework regulation (EU 2024/1781) entered into force in July 2024, but product-specific DPP requirements only become mandatory once the European Commission adopts a delegated act for that product category. No delegated act for textiles has been adopted as of this date.

However, textiles are explicitly listed as a priority product group in the ESPR Working Plan. The European Commission's Ecodesign Working Plan identifies textile and apparel products — including clothing, footwear, and household textiles — as among the first categories for which delegated acts are expected to be developed. Preparatory studies and stakeholder consultations for textile ecodesign requirements are ongoing.

When Will Textile DPP Requirements Apply?

No legally fixed application date for a textile DPP has been established as of July 2026. Based on the ESPR legislative timeline and the Commission's Working Plan, textile DPP requirements are anticipated to become mandatory from approximately 2027 onwards, subject to the adoption and entry into force of a delegated act. The actual date will depend on the Commission's legislative calendar and the outcome of ongoing preparatory studies.

For context: the Battery Regulation (EU 2023/1542) established a mandatory Digital Battery Passport for EV batteries from February 18, 2027 — this is a separate regulation from ESPR and is already legally fixed. Textile DPP requirements under ESPR are expected to follow a similar timeline but are not yet legally fixed.

What Information May a Textile DPP Contain?

Based on ESPR Article 8 and the Commission's ongoing preparatory work for textiles, a textile DPP is expected to include some or all of the following information categories. The exact data fields will be specified in the delegated act once adopted:

• Material composition: fibre content by percentage (e.g., 80% cotton, 20% polyester), including recycled content percentage
• Durability and repairability: care instructions, repair guidance, spare parts availability
• Chemical substances: presence of substances of concern (SVHC under REACH) above threshold concentrations
• Carbon footprint: greenhouse gas emissions associated with production, where applicable
• Country of origin: manufacturing country and, where relevant, country of origin of primary materials
• End-of-life information: recycling instructions, collection point information, disassembly guidance
• Certification and compliance: relevant sustainability certifications (e.g., GOTS, OEKO-TEX), CE marking where applicable
• Unique product identifier: a unique identifier linking the physical product to its DPP data record

Who Is Responsible for Textile DPP Compliance?

Under ESPR, the economic operator who places the product on the EU market is responsible for creating and maintaining the Digital Product Passport. For textile products, this means:

• EU-established manufacturers: directly responsible for creating the DPP before placing the product on the EU market
• Non-EU manufacturers selling directly to EU consumers (e.g., via Amazon EU, Shopify, Etsy): responsible for the DPP as the entity placing the product on the EU market
• EU-established importers: responsible if the non-EU manufacturer has not created the DPP
• Authorised representatives: may be designated to fulfil DPP obligations on behalf of non-EU manufacturers

This means that non-EU fashion brands, clothing manufacturers, and textile sellers who sell directly to EU consumers are expected to be responsible for creating compliant DPPs for their products once the delegated act for textiles enters into force.

How Can Non-EU Textile Brands Prepare?

Although textile DPP requirements are not yet legally mandatory, non-EU fashion brands and clothing sellers can take preparatory steps now to avoid last-minute compliance pressure:

1. Audit your product data: Collect and organise material composition data, care instructions, country of origin, and certification information for your product range. This data will form the core of your textile DPP.
2. Understand your supply chain: Identify where your materials come from and whether your suppliers can provide the sustainability data that may be required in the DPP.
3. Appoint an EU Authorised Representative now: Under GPSR (EU 2023/988), non-EU sellers already need an EU Authorised Representative (EU AR) for product safety compliance. The same entity may be able to support DPP obligations once they become mandatory.
4. Use a DPP platform: AuraDPP provides a Digital Product Passport platform that allows you to create, manage, and publish DPP pages for your textile products now — before the delegated act enters into force. Early adoption means your systems are ready when compliance becomes mandatory.
5. Monitor the ESPR legislative calendar: The European Commission publishes updates on delegated act development. Subscribe to ESPR updates to receive advance notice of textile DPP requirements.

Textile DPP and GPSR: Two Separate Obligations

Non-EU textile sellers selling to EU consumers face two distinct compliance obligations that are often confused:

AuraDPP provides both services in a single subscription: the EU AR service (mandatory now, from €99/month) and the DPP platform (from €19/month). Non-EU textile sellers can become GPSR-compliant today and prepare their DPP infrastructure ahead of the textile delegated act.

Frequently Asked Questions: Textile Digital Product Passport

What is a Digital Product Passport for textiles?

A Digital Product Passport (DPP) for textiles is a structured digital record linked to a physical garment or textile product via a QR code. It contains information about material composition, durability, recycled content, care instructions, and end-of-life guidance. Under EU ESPR (EU 2024/1781), textile DPPs are expected to become mandatory once the European Commission adopts a delegated act for the textile product category.

Do textiles already require a DPP?

No. As of July 2026, there is no legally mandatory Digital Product Passport requirement for textiles. The ESPR framework regulation is in force, but product-specific DPP requirements only become mandatory after a delegated act is adopted for that category. Textiles are a priority category and a delegated act is anticipated, but no legally fixed date has been set.

When will textile DPP requirements apply?

Based on the ESPR Working Plan and the Commission's legislative calendar, textile DPP requirements are anticipated from approximately 2027 onwards. This is not a legally fixed date — it depends on when the European Commission adopts and publishes a delegated act for textiles under ESPR. The Battery Regulation's DPP (mandatory from February 2027) is a separate regulation and not a reliable proxy for the ESPR textile timeline.

What information may a textile DPP contain?

Based on ESPR Article 8 and ongoing Commission preparatory work, a textile DPP is expected to include: material composition (fibre content, recycled content percentage), durability and repairability information, chemical substances of concern, carbon footprint data, country of origin, end-of-life and recycling instructions, and relevant certifications. The exact data fields will be defined in the delegated act.

Who is responsible for textile DPP compliance?

The economic operator who places the textile product on the EU market is responsible for the DPP. For non-EU sellers selling directly to EU consumers (via Amazon, Shopify, Etsy, or direct), this means the non-EU seller is expected to be responsible for creating and maintaining the DPP once the delegated act enters into force.

How can non-EU fashion brands prepare for textile DPP requirements?

Non-EU fashion brands can prepare by: auditing product data (material composition, certifications, supply chain), appointing an EU Authorised Representative under GPSR (mandatory now), and using a DPP platform like AuraDPP to create DPP pages ahead of the delegated act. Early preparation avoids last-minute compliance pressure when the textile DPP becomes mandatory.

Check your product compliance status with the free GPSR Compliance Checker or view AuraDPP pricing for EU AR and DPP services. — Goran Matejic, LIMASE s.r.o. (AuraDPP), Bratislava, Slovakia | ESPR Regulation 2024/1781 (EUR-Lex)