Step into DPP compliance with confidence

The European Commission is preparing to enforce digital product passports (DPPs) as part of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), targeting sectors with high environmental impact—textiles and footwear among them.

By 2030, any footwear product sold in the EU will require a DPP containing standardized data on materials, supply chain, carbon footprint, and circularity features.

In practical terms, each product must be digitally identifiable and link to relevant information, accessible through technologies like QR codes or NFC tags. Without the required data, brands may face restricted access to the EU market.

This mandate aims to support product-level traceability, cut waste, improve recycling, and give consumers reliable data.

For footwear companies, this requires structured product data, cross-system integration, and digital readiness. DPPs are expected to influence sourcing, product design, repairability, resale, and compliance reporting.

The digital passport rollout will take place in phases, beginning with minimum data requirements in 2027 and expanding toward full circular coverage by 2033, as outlined by CIRPASS and the European Parliamentary Research Service.

This guide answers key questions to help footwear brands prepare:

• What regulations are shaping the future of digital product passports for footwear?
• What should a footwear digital product passport include?
• How do PIM, PLM, and LCA tools work together to manage digital product passport data?
• What’s the timeline for implementing digital product passports in the footwear industry?
• How do consumers interact with a digital product passport on footwear?
• How does Inriver support DPP implementation for footwear brands?

What regulations are shaping the future of digital product passports for footwear?

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is being introduced under the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), part of the European Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP).

ESPR aims to improve sustainability by requiring products placed on the EU market carry accessible, standardized data throughout their lifecycle.

Key legislation behind the DPP:

• ESPR (Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation) – Will mandate DPPs for priority sectors, starting with textiles, electronics, and batteries. Footwear falls under the textile category.

• EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles – This strategy outlines a 2030 goal where all textile products placed on the EU market must be durable, recyclable, free from harmful substances, and produced with respect for environmental and social standards.

It specifically identifies footwear as a high-impact category due to material complexity, low reuse rates, and fast consumption cycles. Mandatory product-specific ecodesign requirements, including recycled content and traceable materials, are being developed under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation.

• Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) – Adopted as Directive (EU) 2024/1760, this regulation obliges large companies operating in the EU to assess and address risks to human rights and the environment across their global supply chains.

It supports DPP goals by requiring transparent documentation of product and supply chain practices, especially relevant for footwear brands sourcing across multiple countries.

• Environmental Footprint Methodologies (PEF) – The Commission is finalizing sector-specific Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methods for apparel and footwear to standardize how environmental impact is measured.

These methods are expected to define the required metrics for the digital product passport, ensuring uniformity in lifecycle reporting across the industry.

Why footwear?

Footwear is a priority due to:

• Complex material combinations
• High production volume
• Low recycling rates
• Increasing demand for traceability in resale and rental models

Footwear brands will need to follow this digital product passport guide closely to stay compliant and competitive in the EU market.

What should a footwear digital product passport include?

The European Commission, through the CIRPASS project and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), outlines a set of minimum data categories expected to be required for DPPs by 2030.

Below is a breakdown of essential data types relevant to footwear DPPs, based on compliance objectives and product characteristics:

This set of data supports both footwear traceability and transparency initiatives. It aligns to enable a footwear sustainability passport that informs consumers, resale platforms, regulators, and recyclers alike.

As defined in the European Parliamentary Research Service study, traceable, machine-readable data must be made accessible throughout the product’s lifecycle and updated across platforms where the product appears.

How do PIM, PLM, and LCA tools work together to manage digital product passport data?

Managing a digital product passport requires input from multiple systems. To meet regulatory and commercial requirements, product data must be complete, verifiable, and connected from design to post-sale. This is achieved by aligning three core systems:

When these systems are integrated, they enable a unified data thread from product creation to market launch and post-sale engagement.

For manufacturers, especially in industrial footwear production, this setup reduces duplication, limits errors, and ensures compliance with evolving data requirements for digital product passports.

What’s the timeline for implementing digital product passports in the footwear industry?

Although exact DPP launch dates are sector-dependent, the current regulatory trajectory points to mandatory compliance for footwear by 2030, with preparatory steps starting earlier.

Key EU Milestones

• 2024 to 2025 – Finalization of ESPR product-specific requirements

• 2026 – Expected adoption of delegated acts defining footwear-specific DPP data fields

• 2027 – Pilot implementation for select textile and footwear products

• 2030 – Full enforcement of DPP requirements for all in-scope footwear products placed on the EU market

Recommended implementation stages for footwear brands

To meet DPP compliance requirements on time, brands should plan for the following stages:

1. Data audit – Identify missing product and supply chain data required under ESPR
   
2. System alignment – Ensure PLM, LCA, and PIM systems can generate and manage required fields
   
3. Pilot programs – Apply DPP to select product lines to test infrastructure and data flows
   
4. Integration – Connect verified product data to QR/NFC chips and resale platforms
   
5. Go-live – Ensure all new footwear products launched in the EU carry a valid digital product passport

Preparing ahead of the regulatory deadlines will allow brands to adapt incrementally and avoid last-minute disruptions. The DPP is set to become a baseline requirement for market access under the product passport EU policy.

How do consumers interact with a digital product passport on footwear?

A digital product passport becomes accessible to consumers through a QR code or NFC chip embedded in or attached to the footwear.

When scanned using a smartphone, the tag links directly to a product-specific online page, often hosted or managed through a brand’s PIM system or third-party platform.

This shoe digital ID gives users instant access to verified information including:

• Material composition
• Country of origin
• Carbon footprint
• Repair and care instructions
• End-of-life options (reuse, resale, recycling)

For consumers, this promotes transparency and helps make more informed purchase decisions. It also supports sustainable footwear practices by encouraging extended use, resale, or recycling, especially when resale platforms can verify authenticity and product history through the DPP.

For brands, this interaction creates an opportunity to reinforce trust and loyalty. It also opens up new models like trade-in programs or product-as-a-service models, where digital traceability is essential.

How does Inriver support DPP implementation for footwear brands?

Inriver PIM provides a central platform that manages, enriches, and distributes product data at scale. We can help your brand streamline the creation and maintenance of structured, product-level data across all relevant systems and channels.

Here are three of the many key areas we support:

• Data enrichment: Inriver enables brands to centralize and organize product information, from material breakdowns to certifications, ensuring all DPP fields are accurate, updated, and aligned with EU requirements.
  
• Marketplace integrations: Inriver allows product data to be published consistently across e-commerce platforms, resale marketplaces, and B2B portals. This ensures DPP data remains visible and consistent at every touchpoint, including via QR or NFC tags embedded in the product.
  
• Support for circular business models: With its ability to manage attributes tied to repairability, recyclability, and product history, Inriver is a reliable sustainability solution for brands shifting toward circular models. Its data workflows make product-level traceability scalable across a global product portfolio.

One example of how Inriver enables this in practice is through its work with New Balance. The global footwear brand uses Inriver to manage complex product information across categories, helping ensure that sustainability data and technical specifications are accessible, accurate, and aligned with regulatory and consumer expectations.

Read the full case study to see how New Balance uses Inriver to manage complex product data and support sustainability goals.

Put your best product forward with Inriver

Digital product passports are moving from policy to practice, and footwear brands must act now to stay ahead. With mandatory requirements set to take effect by 2030, the time to build a reliable, scalable product data strategy is now.

Schedule a demo to plan your next steps with Inriver.