EU Digital Product Passport to enforce product traceability from 2027

The European Union's Digital Product Passport (DPP), part of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation in force since July 2024, will require companies to attach a permanent digital record to physical products sold in the EU, starting with batteries in 2027, followed by textiles and footwear, and design products like furniture and consumer electronics by 2028. The passport will include information on materials, sourcing, manufacturing, carbon footprint, and instructions for repair, disassembly, and recycling. For design companies, the regulation will expose those with opaque supply chains and reward brands with transparent sustainability practices. Designers will need to prioritize modularity and repairability as market-wide expectations. Consumers will gain easy access to product lifecycle data, potentially influencing purchasing decisions and encouraging repair. However, the DPP only mandates information disclosure, not compliance with specific sustainability standards, leaving environmental impact dependent on consumer response.