World Collective, Denim Deal and Green Story have jointly launched a digital product passport (Digital Product Passport, DPP) pilot project, according to their announcement reported by FashionUnited France. The system is said to now be operational for three types of denim: Renewed Eco, Earthbound Eco and Bluecanopy Eco.
World Collective describes itself as a digital sourcing platform for the fashion industry. Denim Deal is a global public-private collaboration bringing together partners from across the denim value chain, while Green Story acts as the technology provider responsible for environmental data. The fabrics tested come from the Indian manufacturer Bhaskar Savitt Industries, a Denim Deal member.
Data structured at the material level
This implementation would correspond to what industry observers are beginning to call a « DPP intermédiaire »: product passport data is integrated at the component or material level, rather than waiting until the finished product stage. Each fabric thus has a DPP giving access to its composition, sustainability indicators and supplier information.
Today, a fabric supplier may have to transmit the same information, composition, origin, environmental data, certifications, to each of its client brands. Structuring this data at the fabric level would avoid having to rebuild a passport from scratch for every finished pair of jeans.
Jeanine Ballone, co-founder and CEO of World Collective, sums up the current problem: « Aujourd’hui, les fournisseurs doivent communiquer séparément les mêmes informations à des dizaines de marques. » She adds that structuring this data once, in a standardised format, would give it far greater value. « Notre projet pilote montre que lorsque les fournisseurs investissent dans la structuration de leurs données une seule fois, dans un format standardisé, ces informations prennent une valeur infiniment plus grande. Ce n’est pas seulement une question d’efficacité ; c’est un avantage concurrentiel. Les fournisseurs disposant de données DPP complètes peuvent présenter directement au marché leurs pratiques et leurs capacités. »
Anticipating European regulation
This new structuring would be a way for suppliers to prepare for future European regulation and turn it into a commercial advantage. In September, at Texhibition Istanbul, World Collective will organise, together with Denim Deal and Green Story, an operation aimed at mobilising Turkish denim suppliers and preparing them for DPP adoption.
