Digital Product Passport in the Ready-to-Wear Industry

The ready-to-wear sector refers to a broad industry involved in the mass production and sale of products such as clothing and accessories. This sector encompasses various sub-sectors including clothing retail, textile manufacturing, fashion design, and logistics. In recent years, environmental sustainability and product traceability have become significant issues in this sector.

In the ready-to-wear sector, digital product passport applications are used to document the compliance of products with sustainability and ethical production standards. These passports ensure transparent documentation of every step in the supply chain, tracking the journey of products from the source of raw materials to production processes and ultimately to the end consumer.

In this context, the textile and clothing industry is expected to be at the forefront and center of the Digital Product Passport application. Direct access of products to the end consumer and the emergence of the concept of "Fast Fashion" worldwide are significant influences. With the seasonal cycle reducing from 6 months to 15 days, the unsustainable impact of this trend on the environment is increasing day by day. Fashion brands, with the EU's sustainable and circular textile strategy, will be the first companies to experience the Digital Product Passport concept. It is expected that fashion brands will change their approaches in areas such as raw material selection, production, packaging, supply chain management, and adapting technical infrastructure to the system.

The use of digital product passports in the ready-to-wear sector will provide transparency and accountability in the supply chain. This can help brands and consumers better understand the environmental and social impacts of products and make more sustainable choices. Additionally, it can contribute to the development of circular economy practices such as product recycling and reuse. Companies will also have significant gains in this regard; preventing counterfeiting through QR codes, facilitating second-hand sales by revealing product pedigrees, ensuring no child labor or forced labor of irregular migrants, guaranteeing that product contents are officially declared in the European Union system, and expediting complaint and return processes.

In the future, digital product passports becoming more widespread can help consumers make more informed purchases and assist brands in transitioning to more sustainable production practices. This will contribute to the creation of a more environmentally and socially sustainable ready-to-wear industry.