Digital product passport: transparency and traceability for the production chain

Consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental footprint of products. As a result, they are demanding more transparency from companies. Retailers and manufacturers utilize diverse methods to provide information about sustainability measures in order to gain trust. The fashion companies bonprix and s.Oliver seek to provide information about the origin, production and environmental impact of selected products and collections.

The third edition of the Capgemini Research Institute's annual consumer trend report What Matters to Today's Consumer shows that consumers are increasingly thinking about the impact of their purchases. They are demanding more transparency from retailers regarding the sustainability of products: What resources are being used? How much impact does production have on the environment? What is the CO₂ footprint? Can the item be recycled?

According to the Capgemini survey, more than half of consumers distrust the sustainability claims made by companies. If they could obtain comprehensive information about the environmental impact of an alternate product, most would switch. 63% of respondents would like brands to provide more active information about sustainable products. Almost half support the introduction of detailed labelling and scannable QR codes on product packaging.

Where does the swimsuit or swimming trunks I'm wearing on the beach actually come from? At the beginning of June 2024, the bonprix fashion chain launched a new swimwear collection that features a digital product passport for the first time. This "Sustainability Passport" provides detailed information on all stages of the supply chain, the environmental performance of suppliers and the specific environmental impact of each product.

Customers can view the key data of the product passport by scanning a QR code on the hangtag. This feature is the result of a collaboration with the start-up Made2Flow: over 200 data points were collected for each item of swimwear along the entire supply chain in order to carry out a comprehensive life cycle analysis of each product. The supply chain partners provided information on energy and water consumption, energy sources, chemicals and machinery, for example.

The aim of this collaboration is to make production processes and sustainability measures transparent for customers. Stefanie Sumfleth, Vice President Corporate Responsibility & Technical Product at bonprix, emphasises that achieving this level of transparency requires many years of very close cooperation with partners along the supply chain.

The fashion company s.Oliver has initially focused on its own online shop for product transparency. Since May 2024, there has been a tracing function for selected products and collections that can be used via the browser. This allows customers to track the origin of their clothing.

This function reveals where and by whom the clothing was manufactured and which standards were met in terms of materials and social responsibility. All verifications and certifications have been checked by independent third parties, according to s.Oliver.

One example of this is the "Empowering Farmers" collection, which supports Indian farmers in switching to organic cotton. By working directly with cotton cooperatives, the supply chain, through to the production level, is made traceable. The "360° Denim" product capsule, which consists of at least 20% certified recycled cotton and uses resource-saving finishing processes, is also equipped with the tracing function.

The tracing function is provided in collaboration with technology partner Retraced. Sabrina Müller, Head of Sustainability at the s.Oliver Group, promises that the feature will be extended to other collections in the future: "We want to make sustainability more tangible for our customers. This includes providing credible proof of sustainability statements through transparency and traceability. In this way, we are helping to enable and promote more responsible consumption and more conscious purchasing decisions."

Sources: Press release s.Oliver, Press release bonprix and Press release Capgemini