Digital Product Passports: Fashion’s New Marketing Tool

Digital Product Passports: From Compliance Tool to Marketing Power

For most fashion brands, “Digital Product Passport” still sounds like a regulatory burden, another data requirement, another QR code, another system to update.

But behind the policy language is something brands have been chasing for years: a credible storytelling tool that lives directly on the product.

The EU made DPPs mandatory under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, but early adopters are showing they can do more than prove compliance.

They can make a product speak for itself.

From QR Code to Brand Conversation

Across Europe, brands are starting to test Digital Product Passports in real products.

Italian knitwear label Artknit Studios adds QR codes to each garment, leading to a digital passport that shows material origins, manufacturing steps, and care details. The company reports higher customer retention rates when people scan and learn about the supply chain.

At Tommy Hilfiger, a pilot project in partnership with THE ID FACOTRY initiative tests DPPs not only for traceability but for post-sale engagement. Shoppers who scan can access sustainability milestones, collection stories, and care videos directly from the product label.

The same feature that regulators want for transparency, the scannable code, is turning into a direct marketing channel.

Storytelling That Doesn’t Need a Campaign

Traditional brand storytelling happens on social media or product pages. DPPs move that story onto the product itself.

When a customer scans a label in-store or at home, they see verifiable information about where and how a garment was made. It’s not advertising, it’s proof.

This distinction matters. The Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive will restrict how brands use environmental marketing terms, banning vague claims like “eco-friendly” or “sustainable” without measurable evidence.

A DPP provides the evidence automatically, material composition, supplier traceability, repairability, and durability data.

That means fashion brands can still communicate their values without risking penalties. The passport becomes the compliant proof behind every claim.

A small label using verified supply chain data in its DPP can show, not tell, that a garment uses organic cotton from a traceable source. This level of visibility was once reserved for big brands with in-house tech teams. Now it’s becoming standardised.

Turning Compliance Into Trust

Consumers are getting used to scanning things, receipts, QR menus, and product codes. The DPP builds on that behaviour but changes the payoff.

Instead of leading to a marketing page, it leads to verified transparency.

Research from CIRPASS and GS1 Europe shows that customers are more likely to trust environmental claims when they can verify them via official data points like a DPP.

That trust isn’t just ethical capital; it’s commercial value. Brands that demonstrate credible traceability gain longer customer lifecycles and higher resale participation.

When a second-hand buyer can scan and confirm authenticity, the product retains more value, meaning both the original brand and the circular platform benefit.

This transparency doesn’t erase marketing; it strengthens it.

From One-Way Communication to Two-Way Engagement

Digital Product Passports create a new kind of feedback loop.

Through QR or NFC interactions, brands can track how and when customers engage with product data, without breaching privacy laws.

This gives insight into what people care about most: materials, production stories, or repair access.

For example, EON, Digital IDs let customers scan garments to access product information and services after purchase; brands including Pangaia, Chloé and Coach are using them to deepen post-sale engagement.

Some brands are going further: connecting DPP scans to reward programs. Customers who repair or resell a product can earn points or credits, logged automatically in the DPP. This makes the passport part of the loyalty ecosystem, not just a compliance record.

Fighting Greenwashing Without Losing Marketing Freedom

Many brands fear the EU’s new advertising restrictions will stifle creativity. But DPPs allow for creative storytelling grounded in facts.

Instead of generic claims, marketing teams can build campaigns around verifiable achievements, recycled content rates, CO₂ savings, or supplier partnerships.

A growing number of communication agencies are integrating DPP data into product pages, packaging, and newsletters.

When every product already has verified information, marketing teams spend less time defending claims and more time shaping messages around them.

The Resale and Repair Connection

The marketing potential doesn’t stop at purchase.

Digital Product Passports also open doors to resale, rental, and repair campaigns, all of which can reinforce a brand’s sustainability reputation.

When a customer scans a DPP years later, they might see:

• Verified repair centres or alteration partners.

• Resale marketplaces where authenticity is confirmed through DPP data.

• Brand-led take-back programs.

It’s the same principle as a car with a service history, only here, it’s a digital care history that stays with the garment forever.

Why This Matters for You

For SMEs, DPPs might sound resource-heavy. But several EU-funded initiatives are already developing shared digital passport systems designed for smaller producers.

This levels the playing field.

A small brand can communicate the same transparency as a global name, without matching their marketing budgets.

It’s not about building a new tech system; it’s about using existing supplier and production data more effectively.

The Shift From Storytelling to Prooftelling

Every fashion brand talks about sustainability.

But when everyone uses the same words, proof becomes the differentiator.

A DPP offers proof that’s impossible to fake, backed by legislation, and accessible directly from the garment.

That’s the kind of marketing tool that doesn’t need slogans. It builds credibility one scan at a time.

In a market where trust and transparency are fast becoming currencies, the brands that use DPPs creatively, not just legally, will own the conversation.