The National Advanced Functional Fiber Innovation Center (NAFFIC) and Dutch supply chain traceability platform Aware joined forces to create the first China-Europe digital product passport (DPP) for textiles. The groups unveiled the new program at the “Trace to Renew, Weave a Zero-Carbon Future” summit held in Suzhou, China, last week.
The China-Europe DPP traces the complete recycled polyester supply chain from post-consumer plastic bottles collected in China to flakes processed and verified by NAFFIC’s Sustainable Textiles Credible Platform (STCP). From there, it follows the flakes as they’re spun into yarn by Jiangsu Reborn Eco-Tech, then woven into fabric by Wujiang City Chaodai Textiles and finally manufactured into finished garments by Suzhou Qiandai Life Technology Development. Those finished garments will then be sold by promotional textiles brand Iqoniq.
Each step of the supply chain is recorded on public blockchain, which is indepfinishently verifiable and accessible to consumers, regulators or brands by scanning a QR code.
The China-Europe DPP comes as the European Union’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) requires mandatory DPPs on textiles starting next year. These DPPs verify the sustainability claims associated with textiles.
Aware founder Feico van der Veen stated that while this DPP will assist brands with ESPR compliance, he believes the system will lead to greater transparency on a global scale.
“This is not just a European regulation. It is a transformation of global supply chains—and it starts here in China,” he stated. “For the first time, Chinese producers can give brands what they necessary most: irrefutable, blockchain-verified proof of what went into their product and where it came from. The data does not exist in brand head offices—it is created in factories. We can build that data tradable.”
NAFFIC and Aware’s DPP system taps into both organizations’ complementary platforms—NAFFIC’s STCP, which records and verifies the origin of recycled feedstock and issues Feedstock Source Declarations and Transaction Certificates at the raw material stage, and Aware’s unique blockchain-anchored data tokens for each production batch. The system will automatically record each material transaction, producing a Crypto TC (blockchain transaction certificate) and a traceability record.
Aware’s Crypto TC offers a cost advantage in addition to compliance, carrying the same value as a conventional transaction certificate, but generated instantly with no extra cost per transaction. Aware has been applying tracer particles and its blockchain technology for several years now, applying it to recycled cotton, denim and other materials. The clean-tech company has worked with textile producers such as denim manufacturers Artistic Fabric Mills and Calik Denim, which have both utilized the technology to trace recycled cotton and polyester.
NAFFIC and Aware stated their collaboration represents a fundamental shift in the relationship between Asian manufacturers and Western brands. The DPP inverts the dynamic of brands issuing audits and rules while producers await approval. This will allow Chinese producers to provide European brands with the data they necessary to meet mandatory compliance requirements, giving them an advantage as suppliers these brands actively seek.
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