How Will the EU Digital Product Passport Change How We Buy and Sell Everything by 2030?

Is Your Business Ready for the New Digital Product Passport and What It Means for Your Products?

Imagine if you could know the full story of a product before you buy it. Not just the price or the brand name, but where its materials came from, who made it, and how to care for it long after you take it home. What if this information was available with a quick scan of your phone? This isn’t a far-off idea; it’s the reality of the Digital Product Passport (DPP), a new system that is set to change our relationship with the things we own.

Think of it as a detailed, honest ID card for almost every item you can buy. This passport will travel with the product from its creation to the day it’s recycled, giving everyone from shoppers to repair technicians access to vital information. This initiative is a core part of a larger European plan, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which aims to make the products we use daily more durable, reusable, repairable, and energy-efficient.

What Is a Digital Product Passport?

At its heart, a Digital Product Passport is a digital record of a single product’s journey and characteristics. It is designed to be a straightforward tool for transparency. Instead of relying on vague marketing claims on a package, you will have access to a wealth of verified data. This information aims to give consumers real power and hold companies accountable for their environmental promises.

The DPP will contain a wide range of information, covering the entire lifecycle of a product:

• Product Information: This includes basic details like the product’s name, brand, and manufacturing batch.
• Material Composition: The passport will list the specific materials and chemical substances used, which is crucial for both allergy sufferers and recyclers.
• Supply Chain and Sourcing: You will be able to see where the raw materials were sourced and where the product was assembled. This sheds light on the environmental and social impact of the product’s journey.
• Repair and Maintenance: The DPP will provide manuals, diagrams, and information on how to get spare parts. This makes it easier for you or a local repair shop to fix the product, extending its life and reducing waste.
• Ownership History: For certain products, the passport can track changes in ownership, which is useful for secondhand markets and verifying authenticity.
• End-of-Life Instructions: When the product is finally worn out, the DPP will provide clear instructions on how to disassemble and recycle it properly, ensuring valuable materials are recovered.

How It Works

Accessing a product’s digital passport will be simple. Each product will have a data carrier, such as a QR code, an NFC chip, or a similar scannable tag. When you scan this tag with a smartphone, it will link you to a secure, decentralized database containing all the product’s information.

The use of technologies like blockchain is being explored for storing this data. Blockchain acts like a digital ledger that is incredibly difficult to change or tamper with. This ensures that the information in the DPP is trustworthy and that no single entity can alter the product’s history without a record of it. This creates a secure and reliable source of truth for every product.

The Goals: Creating a More Sustainable and Honest Market

The introduction of Digital Product Passports serves two primary objectives: increasing transparency and promoting a circular economy.

Fighting “Greenwashing”

Many shoppers have become wary of terms like “eco-friendly,” “green,” or “sustainable” because they are often used without proof. The DPP will act as a fact-checker. If a company claims its clothing is made from organic cotton, the passport will contain the certifications to prove it. This shift from marketing claims to verified data will empower consumers to support brands that are genuinely committed to sustainability.

Building a Circular Economy

Our current economy is largely linear—we take resources, make products, use them, and then throw them away. A circular economy aims to keep products and materials in use for as long as possible. The DPP is a key tool for this transition. By making products easier to repair and recycle, the DPP helps reduce waste and lessen our reliance on new raw materials.

Timeline and Rollout

The implementation of Digital Product Passports will happen in phases. The first sector to adopt this new requirement will be batteries for electric vehicles and industrial use, with compliance expected by 2027. Batteries were chosen first because they are critical to the green energy transition and contain valuable materials that need to be managed and recycled properly.

By 2030, the regulation is set to expand to cover products in nearly 30 different categories. While the final list is still being developed, priority areas include:

• Textiles and footwear
• Furniture
• Electronics and ICT equipment
• Iron and steel
• Construction products

This phased approach gives industries time to adapt their supply chains and data management systems to meet the new requirements.

A Growing Global Movement

The Digital Product Passport is part of a much larger global trend toward greater environmental accountability. Consumers and governments around the world are pushing for more sustainable practices.

In the United States, a significant portion of the public believes more should be done to address climate change and protect the environment. This sentiment is reflected in new regulations. For instance, some federal rules now require power plants to drastically cut emissions using technologies like carbon capture. At the state level, places like California and New York have mandated ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting, forcing companies to be more transparent about their impact. The SEC has also finalized rules requiring publicly traded companies to disclose climate-related risks and details.

In the European Union and Canada, new laws are taking aim at greenwashing. Starting in 2026 in the EU, companies will be banned from using generic, unsubstantiated environmental claims. The DPP will serve as the mechanism to provide the specific, verifiable data that will be required instead.

What This Means for You

The arrival of the Digital Product Passport will affect everyone, from shoppers to business owners.

For consumers, it means having the power of information at your fingertips. You will be able to make purchasing decisions based on your values, whether that’s supporting local manufacturing, choosing products made from recycled materials, or ensuring what you buy can be easily repaired. It transforms every shopper into a more informed and conscious participant in the market.

For businesses, the DPP presents both a challenge and an opportunity. Companies will need to invest in tracking their supply chains with much greater detail. However, it is also a chance to build deeper trust with customers. Brands that embrace this transparency can differentiate themselves by telling a compelling and honest story about their products. The DPP becomes a tool for proving quality, durability, and a genuine commitment to sustainability, creating a stronger, more loyal customer base.