NAFFIC and Aware to Launch First China-Europe Digital Product Passport
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.
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Each step of the supply chain is recorded on public blockchain, which is independently 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 said 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 said. “For the first time, Chinese producers can give brands what they need 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 make 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.
