The ESPR and the Digital Product Passport
A summary of Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 and its Digital Product Passport, written for companies in fashion and textiles.
Last updated: 19 August 2026
The Regulation
Regulation (EU) 2024/1781, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, replaces the Ecodesign Directive and extends its scope from energy-related products to nearly all products placed on the European market. It entered into force in July 2024.
The Regulation establishes a framework; the specific requirements for each product group are set out in delegated acts adopted separately. For textiles those requirements are not yet final, which is why no supplier can currently state the definitive list of information to be published.
The Digital Product Passport
The passport is the central mechanism of the Regulation: a defined set of information about a product, reachable from a data carrier on the product itself, in practice a QR code, and available to consumers, to repairers and recyclers, and to market surveillance authorities.
It is a condition of market access. A product within scope that has no compliant passport cannot be placed on the European market.
Information requirements
The content of a passport is determined by the delegated act for the product group. The Regulation provides for requirements covering durability, repairability, recycled content, substances of concern and information on the supply chain behind the product.
The delegated act for textiles has not been adopted. What is already established is that it will require information obtainable only from suppliers, and that collecting that information is the part of the work measured in months.
The EU registry
The European Commission operates a central registry in which passport identifiers are recorded. The infrastructure became operational in July 2026 and the first product groups are being registered.
Textiles are not yet among them, so a fashion brand cannot register a passport today. The work that can be done now is the supply-chain data, so that publication becomes a formality once the delegated act is adopted.
Language requirements
Article 7(8) requires information to be provided in a language easily understood by customers, as determined by the Member State on whose market the product is made available. Article 27(7) applies the same rule to digital instructions carried in the passport.
The obligation therefore follows the markets a company sells in. It is neither a matter of preference nor a requirement to publish in all twenty-four official languages: a brand selling in Italy and France owes Italian and French.
Availability obligations
Article 10(2)(i) requires a passport to remain available for at least the expected lifetime of the product. Article 11(e) extends that obligation beyond the insolvency, liquidation or cessation of activity of the economic operator.
A passport is therefore a commitment with a duration rather than a publication event, and the durability of the party hosting it is a material consideration in the selection.
Scope of these statements
The technical standards that specify how a passport is to be implemented, the EN 182xx series, are under development at CEN/CENELEC. Trama builds to the Regulation and to the GS1 Digital Link standard, and identifies openly where a requirement is not yet settled.
This page is a summary intended to support orientation. It is not legal advice and does not replace the text of the Regulation or advice from a qualified professional.