A packaging company is partnering with a software platform to help brands prepare digital product passports (DPP) as Europe moves to demand more transparency from the fashion industry.
In a statement on Monday, Weavabel said it is teaming up with Bombiix, a product lifecycle management and DPP platform, to combine their strengths and help brands get ready for a stricter regulatory framework in the European Union.
The companies, both of which are based in the United Kingdom, would combine their expertise to deliver an integrated DPP solution to an often-fragmented industry that keeps on piecing together key transparency data from different systems and suppliers.
“One of the biggest challenges facing brands today is that critical product information exists across multiple systems, suppliers and teams,” said Lucy Blackley, founder and chief product officer at Bombiix. Thus, its work with Weavabel is designed to give brands “a more connected approach.”
This announcement comes as DPP providers urge brands to begin internal preparations for EU’s highly anticipated transparency rules, even though the specific regulations for the textile industry are not expected yet until sometime next year.
The measure would demand greater transparency from an industry that thrived behind the opaque walls of factories around the world. In essence, the DPP would provide both consumers and regulators a detailed view of a product’s entire life cycle, accounting not just for its origins and end-of-life instructions but also for its environmental impact.
The EU first introduced this under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, an ambitious law passed in 2024 that aims to cover nearly all physical products that enter the EU market. Years later, not everyone has begun preparing for this data heavy requirement, which should be digitally accessible throughout the life cycle of a product.
“Brands can no longer treat compliance data, product information and physical product execution as separate processes,” said David Stutterheim, a DPP consultant at Weavabel. “Our partnership with Bombiix allows us to simplify what can otherwise become a very complex Digital Product Passport journey for brands.”
While the final rules have not yet been released, the partnership would manage information that would most likely be relevant to the DPP, such as product identity, sustainability metrics, and environmental impact data. The data would then integrated with physical care labels and digital touchpoints through QR codes and digital links.
Weavabel said each DPP would be hosted in a secure independent domain to ensure product data remains accessible throughout. It would also support future ESPR accessibility requirements.
While the rules would likely be rigid, Stutterheim said brands should see DPPs more than just a compliance measure alone. “They represent an opportunity for brands to improve transparency, strengthen customer trust and create more meaningful connected product experiences,” he said.
