Contents
AWhat a Digital Product Passport is
A Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a structured record of a product's identity, materials, compliance, and environmental footprint, reachable by anyone who scans the product's QR code. Under the EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), more and more product groups will be required to carry one. DPPespr turns the information you already hold into a hosted passport with its own QR code and a tamper-evident record.
Your job when creating a passport is to describe one product honestly and completely. This guide takes each field in turn.
BBefore you start: what to have ready
You will fill things in faster if you gather these first:
- The product's GTIN or EAN (the barcode number) and your internal SKU.
- The batch or lot number for the run you are passporting.
- The country of manufacture.
- Your material or component breakdown by percentage of weight.
- Any certificates (PDFs or images) and their reference numbers and dates.
- Environmental figures you hold, such as carbon footprint or recycled content.
- Care and end-of-life or recycling instructions.
You do not need every figure to publish. Fill in what you have now and add the rest later. Required fields are clearly marked below.
1Choose a category
Pick the category that best fits your product. This decides which environmental fields you are asked for, since a tyre and a laptop are judged on different things.
The categories are: Textiles, apparel and footwear; Electronics and ICT; Furniture and mattresses; Batteries; Tyres; Iron, steel and aluminium; Construction products; and Other for anything outside those groups.
Why it matters: the category tailors the form. Electronics, for example, adds energy efficiency, software support and spare parts, while textiles focuses on fibre content and substances of concern.
2Choose the level: Model, Batch or Item
Decide how specific each passport, and each QR code, should be. This is one of the most important choices, because it sets how many passports you create and how precisely a scan identifies the product.
Model
One passport for a whole product line. Every unit shares the same QR code. Simplest to manage; best when units are essentially identical and you do not need to tell production runs apart.
Batch
One passport per production run or lot. All units in that run share one QR code. A good middle ground, and the natural fit for textiles, food-adjacent goods, and anything tracked by lot.
Item
One passport per individual unit, each with a unique serial and QR code. The most precise, and expected for things like batteries and high-value electronics, but the most data to manage.
Why it matters: the level is reflected in the QR link itself. If you are unsure, Batch suits most businesses. Our serialization whitepaper goes deeper if you need it.
3Product basics
These identify the product. Four are required.
GTIN / EAN Required
The product's barcode number, normally 8 to 14 digits. If you sell through retail you already have one; if not, it is issued by GS1.
Why: it is the globally unique identifier that ties the passport to the physical product. Note: this locks after you create the passport, because it is printed on your QR label.
Batch / lot number Required
The manufacturer's batch or lot reference for this run.
Why: it lets you and regulators trace a specific production run, which matters for recalls and audits. Note: this also locks after creation, for the same QR-label reason.
Product name Required
The name a customer would recognise, for example "Merino Crew Knit, Charcoal".
Why: it is the human-readable title at the top of the public passport.
Country of origin Required
Where the product was manufactured, as a two-letter country code (for example GB, IT, CN).
Why: origin is a core compliance and consumer-information field.
Internal SKU Optional
Your own stock-keeping code.
Why: it helps you match the passport to your own systems. It is for your reference and does not need to be globally unique.
4Material composition
List what the product is made of. Add a row for each material or fibre.
Material / fibre and percentage by weight
Name each material and its share of total weight. The percentages must add up to exactly 100%, or the passport will not save.
Why: composition is the backbone of most ESPR categories and drives recyclability and substance checks.
Recycled content % Optional
For each material, the share that is recycled rather than virgin.
Why: recycled content is a headline sustainability metric and is increasingly claimed and checked.
Substance of concern flag Optional
Tick this on a material that contains a regulated substance of concern (for example a REACH-listed substance).
Why: it surfaces materials that need closer attention and supports your duty to disclose certain substances.
Tip: if your composition does not total 100%, check for a missing trim, lining, or coating. Rounding each figure to one decimal usually resolves small gaps.
5Certificates
Attach the proof behind your claims. Add one entry per certificate.
Certifying body / scheme
The standard or issuer, for example GOTS, OEKO-TEX, GRS, FSC, PEFC, or a test house.
Certificate / licence number
The reference printed on the certificate.
Upload the file
Attach the certificate PDF or image so it can be viewed from the passport.
Issue date and expiry date Optional
When the certificate was issued and when it lapses.
Why: dates let the passport show whether a certificate is still valid, and let you spot ones due to expire.
Why this section matters: certificates turn claims into evidence. A passport that links to a real, in-date certificate is far stronger in an audit than one that simply asserts a property.
6Care and circularity
Tell the owner how to look after the product and what to do with it at the end of its life.
Care instructions Optional
How to use, clean, and maintain the product to make it last.
Repairability index Optional
A score for how easily the product can be repaired, on the scale your category uses.
Why: repairability is central to ESPR's goal of longer-lasting products, and is shown prominently for some categories.
Recycling / end-of-life instructions Optional
How the product should be disposed of, recycled, or returned.
Why: clear end-of-life guidance improves recycling rates and is a core part of the circularity story.
7Environmental and lifecycle metrics
The fields here depend on the category you chose. Fill in the ones you hold figures for; leave the rest blank.
| Field | What to enter | Typically for |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon footprint (kg CO2e) | The product's carbon footprint, if you have an assessment | All categories |
| Recycled content % | Overall recycled share, if not captured per material | Most categories |
| Product lifespan (months) | Expected useful life | Furniture, tyres, construction |
| Energy efficiency class | The product's energy label class | Electronics |
| Software support until | Date until which software or security updates are provided | Electronics |
| Spare parts URL | Link to where spare parts can be bought | Electronics |
| Disassembly guidance | How the product can be taken apart for repair or recycling | Electronics, furniture, batteries, construction |
| Substances of concern | Notable regulated substances present | Textiles, electronics, batteries |
Why it matters: these are the numbers regulators and customers increasingly look for. Entering the ones you have makes the passport more complete and more credible. You can always add more later.
8Custom fields
If there is something specific to your product that the standard fields do not cover, add it as a custom field: a label and a value, for example "Thread count" and "300".
Why: it lets you capture industry or product details that matter to your customers without waiting for a new form field.
9Save the passport and get your QR code
- Review every section. The completeness indicator shows how much is filled in.
- Save. The passport goes live at its own web address.
- Your QR code is generated automatically. Print it on the product, label, or packaging.
- Anyone who scans it sees the public passport you just built.
A more complete passport scores better on the completeness indicator and looks more professional to anyone who scans it. Aim to fill every field you reasonably can.
10After publishing: edits, locks, and trust
- You can keep editing most fields after publishing, so a passport improves over time as you add data.
- GTIN and batch/lot are locked once created, because they are printed on the QR label. If either is wrong, create a new passport rather than reprinting labels with a mismatch.
- Tamper-evidence: each passport is anchored to a public ledger as a cryptographic fingerprint, giving an independent, timestamped record that its data existed and has not been silently altered.
- Recalls: if you ever need to flag a product, the passport can show a recall notice to anyone who scans it.
CField quick reference
| Field | Required | In short |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Yes | Sets which environmental fields you are asked for |
| Level (Model / Batch / Item) | Yes | How specific each QR code is |
| GTIN / EAN | Yes | Barcode number; locks after creation |
| Batch / lot number | Yes | Production run reference; locks after creation |
| Product name | Yes | Recognisable product title |
| Country of origin | Yes | Two-letter country of manufacture |
| Internal SKU | No | Your own stock code |
| Material composition | If applicable | Materials and % weight, must total 100% |
| Recycled content % | No | Recycled share, per material or overall |
| Substance of concern | No | Flag regulated substances |
| Certificates | No | Body, number, file, dates |
| Care instructions | No | How to maintain the product |
| Repairability index | No | Ease-of-repair score |
| End-of-life instructions | No | Disposal, recycling, return |
| Lifecycle metrics | No | Carbon, lifespan, energy, support, spares |
| Custom fields | No | Anything extra, as label and value |
?Need a hand?
If you get stuck on any field, open the in-app help assistant and ask. It can point you back to the relevant part of this guide. For anything it cannot resolve, raise a support ticket from your account.