Europe's new rule is already written

Your EU buyer will soon ask a question you can't answer with a PDF.

Europe now wants proof of what's in every garment sold there — where it's made, what it's made of, whether it meets their rules. Big brands have to show this, so they will start asking their factories for it. If you can't provide it when asked, the realistic risk is losing that order to a factory that can. This page explains it in plain terms — no compliance background needed.

WeaveWear Organic Hoodie ProSpecimen DPP
Passport status Specimen
2.8kg
CO₂e
30%
Recycled
7/10
Repair
Compliance 5 certificates verified
Origin Porto, Portugal
Why is my buyer suddenly asking about this?

It's not your buyer being difficult. It's a rule they have to follow.

Here's the chain, in three plain steps — no legal background needed.

1

Europe made a new rule

Products sold in the EU — including clothing and textiles — now need a simple digital record of what they're made of and where.

2

Your buyer must follow it

The brands you export to (H&M, Zara, Decathlon, and others like them) are legally on the hook for this, not you directly — yet.

3

They'll ask their factories

To meet the rule, buyers need this data from every factory in their supply chain. Many are already starting to ask.

Want the official paper trail? (for your compliance team, not required reading)

This isn't a guess about the future — the European Commission has already published exactly what this record needs to contain: ESPR entered into force in July 2024, naming textiles as an early priority category. The EU's Joint Research Centre ran a public consultation through March 2026, then published the full technical specification in May 2026. The exact date it becomes mandatory hasn't been announced yet — we won't pretend otherwise — but the requirements themselves are already settled.

This is real, not a mockup

Not a slide. Click through and see exactly what your buyer would see.

This is a real, working example — a plain page with a QR code, built for one real garment. No jargon, no login, no software to learn. It's labeled "specimen" because it uses sample data for demonstration, not because it's fake or half-built. This is the actual thing.

Carbon footprint — how much CO₂ it took to make2.8 kg
Recycled material used30%
How easy it is to repair7 out of 10
Certificates on file5 verified
These are exactly the kinds of questions your buyer will need answered — not made up by us, but taken from what the EU has actually published as required. The numbers here come from a real sample page, so treat them as an example, not a finished product.
How much work is this, really?

Four steps. You don't need to be ready before we start.

No new software to learn on your end. No need to arrive with a perfect spreadsheet.

1

Send what you already have

Old certificates, supplier invoices, a WhatsApp message with photos — whatever exists today. Incomplete is fine. Nothing needs to be organized first.

2

We fill in the gaps with you

Our team does the digging — checking what's missing, asking simple questions in plain language, not technical forms.

3

We build the page

A simple web page and QR code get created for your product — ready to print onto a label or hangtag.

4

Your buyer scans it

They point their phone at the code and see everything they need. No account for them to create, no software for you to maintain.

We know margins are tight

This isn't priced like European software.

  • Built and priced in IndiaFor Indian exporter margins — not what a European company would pay for compliance software.
  • No software for you to buy or learnYou're not signing up for a tool. You send us information, we build the page — that's the whole relationship.
  • Start with one productSee the real cost and the real result on a single item before deciding whether to do more.

"We built this for factories, not for compliance teams. If you can send a WhatsApp message, you have everything you need to start."

— Traceable, on why this page exists
Questions

The questions people actually ask us

Straight answers, in plain language — including the ones we don't have a perfect answer for yet.

My buyer hasn't asked me for this yet. Why should I do anything now?

The EU has already published exactly what this record needs to contain. Your buyer has to comply, which means they will start asking their factories — many brands are already starting. Getting ready before you're asked means you're not scrambling under a deadline, and it can be a reason a buyer keeps ordering from you over a factory that isn't ready.

What actually happens if I don't have this ready?

Nothing happens automatically today. But once your buyer needs it and you can't provide it, the realistic risk is losing that order to a factory that can. This isn't a government fine landing on your desk — it's a commercial risk with the brand you already work with.

I don't have my data organized — materials, certificates, none of it. Can I still do this?

Yes. Most factories start exactly this way. Send whatever exists today, even if it's incomplete, old, or scattered across emails and paper files. Our team fills in the gaps with you. You do not need a perfect spreadsheet to begin.

This sounds expensive. We don't have budget for new software.

This is built and priced in India, for Indian exporter margins — not what a European company pays for compliance software. You can also start with a single product line to see the real cost before deciding on anything bigger.

What is this "Digital Product Passport" thing, in plain terms?

A simple online record for a product — where it was made, what it's made of, proof it meets EU rules. Your buyer scans a QR code on the label and sees it instantly, instead of chasing you for documents over email.

Is the WeaveWear example a real product for sale?

No. It's clearly labeled a specimen with sample data, built to show what a real passport looks like. It is not a product placed on the EU market.

Where is our data kept, and is it safe?

Exclusively in the EU, in Dublin, Ireland, under GDPR — Europe's data protection law. More on how Traceable handles data on the Trust & Security page and in the Privacy Policy.

Want the official regulatory detail instead of the plain version?

ESPR (EU 2024/1781) entered into force in July 2024, naming textiles an early priority category. The EU's Joint Research Centre ran a public consultation through March 2026 and published the full technical specification in May 2026. The exact mandatory date hasn't been announced — track it on the European Commission's Green Forum.

Traceable

This page is operated by Traceable — the team behind traceable.digital and its Digital Product Passport platform. Everything linked above goes to our primary site or an official EU source, not a lookalike domain.

Visit traceable.digital →
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