Guest post by: Shameek Ghosh, Co-Founder and CEO of TrusTrace
Brands that start preparing now will define the future of compliance and circularity.
For several years, the concept of the Digital Product Passport (DPP) has hovered at the edges of the sustainability conversation; it’s a promising yet abstract idea about connecting data to every product’s life story.
But DPPs are not just a project – they represent a permanent operational shift. They are designed to create a secure and standardized way of sharing product information across the value chain, from the origin of materials to how an item is used or recycled. Each passport functions as a digital record of a product’s identity, capturing data such as composition, environmental footprint, compliance documentation, and more.
Although 2029 (the year in which DPPs will be required on textiles sold in Europe) may seem far away, it’s imperative for brands to invest in their digital infrastructure to be ready when regulation turns into reality. By the time regulations go live, it will be too late to build the digital backbone needed to comply – and compete.
In other words, DPPs mark the beginning of a new phase for sustainable business: one where product information becomes a verifiable source of truth. For consumers, it means greater transparency and for brands, it means building the infrastructure to track, manage, and share data that was once locked in spreadsheets or supplier portals. For the planet, it means products designed with circularity in mind from the start.
Why 2026 Matters
Over the next few years, the first detailed DPP requirements will continue to be clarified in the delegated acts under ESPR. These acts will define how data must be structured, who is responsible for maintaining it, and how interoperability will be achieved across borders and industries. This will be the signal for companies to turn pilot projects into production systems.
We are already seeing the groundwork take shape. In the Trace4Value initiative, TrusTrace led the development of a data protocol that defined 105 necessary data points for DPPs in textiles, including brand, material, supply chain, and sustainability information. The project tagged more than 3,000 garments from brands like Marimekko and Kappahl with digital identifiers that linked real supply chain data to each product. The result was not a theoretical model; it was a functioning prototype that proved DPPs can work in practice.
As Gartner recently highlighted, the DPP market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 24.43 percent through 2034. What begins with textiles will quickly expand to other regulated categories like electronics, batteries, and furniture.
Connectivity is Required to Comply
Most of today’s DPP conversations center on consumer-facing pilots – but readiness goes far deeper. Digital Product Passports will eventually be required for every product, not just for a few items in a campaign. That level of granularity cannot be achieved through manual processes or static reports; it demands robust, connected systems that can integrate, validate, and update product-level data in real time.
To prepare, companies must first address their internal data architecture. Supply chain data is often scattered across business units and systems that were never designed to talk to each other. Aligning these systems and ensuring interoperability with suppliers is essential. The Trace4Value data protocol, for example, was built to standardize and categorize information across seven key domains, ensuring data can move seamlessly between stakeholders. This foundational work will separate those who are ready to operationalize DPPs from those still scrambling to understand them.
When most people think about traceability, they think about compliance. But the most forward-thinking brands recognize that traceability is also a business advantage. In an earlier phase of this evolution, companies collected “impact data” to report progress against voluntary ESG goals. DPPs, however, will require “compliance-grade” data – verifiable and auditable data linked to specific product identifiers.
Once this infrastructure is in place, it can unlock value far beyond regulation. Brands will gain the ability to verify supplier performance, measure material efficiency, and make more informed sourcing decisions, while consumers will be able to scan a code on a label and access verified information about origin and environmental impact. And for innovators, DPPs will enable new circular business models, from authenticated resale to product-as-a-service offerings.
Participating brands said piloting the DPP made the invisible visible, showing what product-level transparency can look like in practice. By testing a DPP on real garments, they could finally visualize how each sustainability claim linked back to data. This clarity prepares companies for regulation and it strengthens credibility and drives progress.
The Road Ahead
The next 12 months represent a critical window for preparation. Companies that treat DPPs as a regulatory box to check will find themselves constrained by fragmented data systems and reactive workflows. Those that treat them as a catalyst for transformation will be ready to move faster, communicate more transparently, and adapt to whatever new sustainability demands arise next.
TrusTrace’s experience leading DPP pilots has made one thing clear: readiness is not about waiting for the rulebook. It’s about building the digital foundation that will allow brands to adapt as the rules evolve.
In 2026, building the groundwork for Digital Product Passports will be critical. The brands that begin preparing now by investing in traceability infrastructure, aligning internal teams, and engaging suppliers will not only meet compliance expectations but will also set the standard for what responsible, transparent business looks like in the years ahead.
