First DPP-compliant textile library is live

Brands and retailers currently preparing for the EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) Regulation can now source verified, compliant textiles directly from a structured data library at the supplier level. This went online on May 21st.

The library is an initiative of World Collective, a company that connects brands with next-gen materials and suppliers. It is built and maintained in partnership with Kinset, a company specializing in the infrastructure for digital product passports. Kinset is providing the DPP technology for the pilot.

“The regulation is still being defined. The industry has waited to find out what the rules say before acting. What is live today is what is no longer optional,” comments Jeanine Ballone, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of World Collective, in a statement. “Brands that source here don’t have to rush when the deadline expires. The compliance work has already been done at the supplier level. This changes what brands can do in the next twelve months.”

What information is provided?

The initial size of nine verified materials from three suppliers – Climatex Industrial Co., Ltd. from Bangladesh, Maritaş from Turkey and SKD Fine Décor from India – was deliberately chosen because organic growth is planned. “The architecture is designed for scalability; the library grows into it: material by material, delivery operation by delivery operation,” according to the release. Each material is third-party tested, certified and structured according to DPP standards. Additional delivery companies are currently being verified and new materials are continually being added.

Each material information page provides details such as composition and construction, finishing and performance, compliance and testing, and handling and recommendations. This includes the percentage of completion for each point. The traceability section contains information from tier four (raw material origin) through tier three (yarn production) to tier two (production level). Information about the environmental footprint of each substance is also provided. It would be helpful to have more information about the individual delivery companies, but perhaps this will be planned for a later date.

What’s new about this approach?

Brands and retailers in the process of complying with DPP regulations tend to work backwards. They trace the path back from the finished product. This is laborious and requires the cooperation of external suppliers. By selecting a fabric from the textile library, brands and retailers can be assured that it has been pre-verified. In addition, the data is structured in a format that the DPP is moving towards. “The burden of compliance is shifting from the brand’s back office to the supply chain itself, where the data actually originates,” says World Collective.

Another benefit is that the same supplier-level data that supports the DPP also covers all other important new regulations. These include the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Green Claims Directive. “A textile that is DPP-ready is by definition also ready for the regulatory architecture that follows,” summarizes the organization. “What the library demonstrates beyond the catalog is that the compliance future of fashion will be built at the supplier level. The players who recognize this now will lead the change in the market.”

The library has been designed to quickly adapt to specific requirements as the final DPP regulation is still pending. This allows data fields to be expanded, formats to be aligned, and new attributes to be layered onto an architecture that already contains the basic information about each material.

The DPP Ready Textile Library is live and accessible to brands at world-collective.com/collections/dpp-ready.