How can digital product passports become a driver of sustainability and business value, rather than merely a regulatory requirement? In an episode of Heja Framtiden, Karolin Catela from GS1 Sweden and Elin Dahl Sandrén from Filippa K explored this question. The conversation focused on traceability, insights from a joint pilot project, and what happens when transparency in textile value chains is taken to the next level.
The EU’s Ecodesign Directive is accelerating the shift toward increased traceability, origin labeling, and circularity across multiple industries, particularly in the textile sector. At the same time, companies are facing a new reality where information must be made visible further upstream in the value chain and be digitally accessible.
By 2030, companies are expected to have a digital infrastructure in place to meet the EU’s new requirements. Many stakeholders have already begun preparing, both technically and organizationally.
A pilot focused on wool
As part of The Fiber Traceability Initiative (FTI), a project launched by Axfoundation, a pilot was conducted to test traceability and digitalization in practice. Filippa K participated with a collection of knitted wool garments, tracking their journey from farm to store.
The project brought together stakeholders from multiple stages: wool farmers in South Africa, spinners, laundries, and manufacturers in Europe. To enable data flow, GS1 standards were used alongside the VirtualRouteZ platform, where each step was digitally recorded.
Elin Dahl Sandrén, Responsibility Manager at Filippa K, explains how the project shifted the perspective. Instead of starting with manufacturing, it began at the very start of the value chain, with the sheep farmers. Each sheep was assigned a QR code, enabling the tracking of every wool bale throughout the entire value chain.
This approach is still uncommon in the industry. One challenge is that wool is often sold through spot markets, where the focus is on fiber quality rather than origin. By linking data from the farm level, a new level of transparency was created, enabling a more detailed product story.
– Each sheep is assigned its own QR code, as is every wool bale and container. This allows us to know exactly which farm the material comes from and which intermediaries have been involved throughout the entire process, says Elin Dahl Sandrén.
Scalability, business value, and circularity
Karolin Catela from GS1 Sweden sees the project as an important first step toward digital product passports in the textile industry. By starting on a small scale, with just a few garments, the partners were able to test structures, evaluate data collection, and develop a scalable solution.
A key success factor has been the open infrastructure. When systems are unable to communicate with one another, unnecessary complexity arises in collaboration between different stakeholders.
Moreover, the open infrastructure helps clarify the business value. By scanning the QR code, the end customer can see the garment’s entire journey—from farm to hanger. This not only adds value for the consumer but also enables storytelling, transparency, and a stronger emotional connection to the product.
Within FTI, the focus has so far been on knitted wool garments, but as a next step, Filippa K is exploring the inclusion of woven wool pieces, followed by other materials such as cotton and leather. Additional data points will also be incorporated, including climate impact, animal welfare, and social conditions.
– Traceability doesn’t guarantee sustainability on its own, but it supports the work needed to meet other upcoming requirements, says Karolin Catela. The next step for FTI is to refine the process by adding more data further upstream in the value chain and to continue building toward long-term digitalization. Our vision is to exchange data in an even more sophisticated way than we do today.
A driver of tomorrow’s circular flows
Digital product passports can also be a key enabler of a more circular economy. For brands like Filippa K, the project opens up opportunities to collaborate with second-hand players and resellers, where information about a garment’s lifespan, condition, and usage can help improve both design and quality in future collections.
– This is a scalable project that gives us new insights into how we can work more data-driven with sustainability, says Elin Dahl Sandrén.
The future demands both structure and collaboration, and perhaps this is where digital product passports hold their greatest potential: building bridges between technology, transparency, and business development.
Listen to the full conversation on Heja Framtiden
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