Published by CEN in October 2025 as part of the pre-standardization document CEN CWA 18291:2025 (TRICK - Guidelines on data collection from Textile supply chains for the Digital Product Passport), the new guidelines aim at supporting companies across fashion sector value chains and represent an important technical model to help companies adapt to future regulatory obligations, including the Digital Product Passport (DPP).

The guidelines were developed by an international team coordinated by ENEA, with the support of the Italian National Standards Body (UNI), building on the results of European projects such as the TRICK project, which developed a traceability platform to support the circular economy, the CISUTAC project, focused on optimized management of post-consumer waste, and the PESCO-UP project, dedicated to the recycling of blended textiles (cotton/polyester). The guidelines are therefore based on results validated through real industrial case studies, from which real textile supply chain workflows, examples of processes, roles and events, diagrams and evidence, as well as use cases related to circularity and recycling have been derived.

The CEN CWA TRICK document can be defined as an innovative technical document for several reasons. In short, it brings into the textile sector—traditionally characterized by low levels of digitalization and complex supply chains—solutions and data models that were previously neither standardized nor easily accessible to companies, especially SMEs

The focus of the document is on data and collaborative processes across the entire supply chain. A six-phase methodology is proposed to support the implementation of a traceability system within the supply chain that, by combining traceability and sustainability, addresses the collection of data on the origin of raw materials, transformation processes, energy and water consumption, chemical substances used, environmental impacts, and ethical and social aspects. The six phases of the methodology include:

• Definition of objectives and the expected legal value of data
• Analysis of the 'as-is' state of the supply chain
• Design and implementation of the traceability system
• Collection of sustainability data
• Description of collaborative data exchange processes
• Definition of a standardized data model.

A holistic and standardized approach to data collection is provided, enabling companies to produce consistent and reliable information, reducing system integration costs between different systems, and offering a solid information base in the event of inspections or documentary checks by authorities such as customs.

In particular, the CWA does not limit itself to tracking supply chain events only, but integrates:

• Technical traceability data (movements, transformations, batches);
• Sustainability data (PEF, energy consumption, emissions, waste);
• Economic and social data (certifications, processes, responsibilities),

The model proposed by the CEN CWA is based on existing standards: the traceability approach builds on methodologies such as those developed by UNECE for transparent and sustainable fashion value chains, as well as on event-based models like GS1 EPCIS, in addition to the sectorial specification CEN CWA eBIZ (16667). The innovation lies in combining these standards into a single framework designed specifically for the textile sector and ready for future scenarios such as the DPP and environmental reporting. More specifically, the resources accompanying the guidelines are based on the eBIZ specification, which was updated and extended during the European TRICK project to cover traceability and sustainability topics, including concrete and usable examples of how data can be exchanged among the various supply chain actors.

Particular attention is also given to data confidentiality and granular management of data disclosure policies, with the aim of overcoming companies’ reluctance to share sensitive data—a critical issue within the textile supply chain.

The guidelines do not impose binding obligations, but rather offer a reference framework. They are useful for textile companies, IT providers, sustainability experts, and other stakeholders to prepare for future regulatory requirements, such as those related to the Digital Product Passport (DPP) governed by the ESPR Regulation. Indeed, while the document does not define the specific content of the DPP (which is expected to be set out in delegated acts—hopefully—in 2027), it identifies which data need to be collected in order to be ready to provide the declarations required by the DPP and other forthcoming regulations affecting the sector (CSDDD, CSRD, etc.) as well as impact assessment methods (like PEF). It proposes common semantics, as well as ready-to-use tools and resources to support interoperability, with the aim of reducing costs and duplication.

The operational definition of the DPP, which will be established in the incoming delegated acts, will determine the level of detail of the passport (model, batch, or individual item) and a set of indicators with different levels of obligation. However, even if the DPP does not include the entire traceability history of each production batch, the absence of a robust traceability system would make the information contained in the passport difficult to verify and, consequently, of limited regulatory effectiveness.

This is the added value of the new CEN CWA: the guidelines provide applicable procedures to adapt to future ESPR/DPP requirements, allowing companies to envision how to organize their data in view of upcoming obligations, while offering a public, standardized model that helps reduce system integration and compliance costs, making traceability accessible even to smaller companies. In this way, greater supply chain transparency is promoted, encouraging increased digitalization and supporting collaboration.

The CEN CWA TRICK can be downloaded directly from the CEN website at this link

Information, references, and resources related to the eBIZ specification are available at eBIZ specification technical web site

The new eBIZ draft version proposed by the TRICK project, which underpins the CWA, is available at this link

An overview of the CEN CWA 18291 TRICK is available at this link.

The JRC (Joint Research Centre), a research infrastructure supporting the European Union, has presented the draft of the third document of the preparatory study for the implementation of the ESPR regulation (Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation).

Starting with the apparel sector, the ESPR provides for the introduction of sustainability performance obligations and information requirements toward consumers, authorities and actors of the supply chain, for all products placed on the EU market. Nevertheless, the actual obligations under the ESPR and the DPP for the apparel sector will be established only through a specific delegated act, expected by 2027, and whose requirements will be reflected in the future Digital Product Passport (DPP).

The JRC will produce four reports (this is the third), with the task of providing the technical basis for the assessments underpinning the decisions to be taken by the European Union (Parliament and Commission).

The first report (February 2024) outlined the reference framework, defined the scope of analysis, and documented the Ecolabel and Green Public Procurement criteria; the second (November 2024) analyzed technologies, frameworks, and data gaps in the adopted environmental and economic model, and included a study on so-called 'Substances of Concern,' i.e. substances that may have effects on human health and the environment and are therefore subject to particular attention.

The third report, published in December 2025 and presented during a two-day webinar, defines reference cases (primarily technologies and products) and scenarios related to different options that may be pursued in implementing the ESPR in the apparel sector. It assesses their impacts and benefits also in relation to BATs (Best Available Technologies) and BNATs (Best Not Available Technologies, i.e. technologies that are close to market but not yet available).

For the sake of brevity, only the four types of intervention considered are listed below:

• Improvement of product durability over time (in practice, the analysis is based on garment robustness, referring to ISO 16322-3, 3759 and 15487; see the report for a better understanding of the related issues);
• Improvement of product recyclability;
• Increase in recycled content in products;
• Reduction of the environmental footprint of manufacturing (either carbon footprint only or all environmental footprints - such as PEF), excluding fiber production (again, it is useful to read the rationale behind this choice).

The study identifies three types of reference products (denim, knitwear, and other woven textiles), on which the impacts of the different scenarios were quantitatively assessed. It also proposes a scoring system similar to the energy classes used for household appliances and buildings, in order to facilitate the comprehension of such complex data to the consumers. To complement the study, an Excel document has been published containing all variables and parameters used in the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) and LCC (Life Cycle Costing) methodologies applied to estimate impacts.

The study also highlights several critical issues associated with the different scenarios, often linked to the lack of complete information or the difficulty of data collection. Finally, the JRC reiterated its invitation to submit comments and additional information (deadline: 23 March 2026).

All documents, including the slides from the recent webinar held on 14 and 15 January 2026, are available here (Documents section)

A detailed summary of the contents of the third report can be found in these two articles (Italian only):
Ecodesign, verso l’atto delegato tessile: tutte le novità e i requisiti in cantiere
Ecodesign tessile, nuove etichette e requisiti informativi al vaglio

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As is well known, there is sector-specific activity to define product performance requirements and information obligations, currently carried out by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), a European Commission service for science and knowledge. Alongside this, there is a cross-sector activity covering all industrial sectors, focused on defining the IT infrastructure and procedures for managing product passports.

The definition of the IT standards required for the DPP has been delegated to the European standardization bodies coordinated by CEN, in particular to the CEN/CENELEC JTC 24 'Digital Product Passport' committee, whose objective is to define eight reference standards:

• Unique identifiers (EN 18219)
• Data carriers and links between the physical product and its digital representation (EN 18220)
• Access rights management and information security (EN 18239)
• System interoperability (technical, semantic, organizational) (EN 18223)
• Data exchange protocols (EN 18216)
• Data archiving, storage, and persistence (EN 18221)
• Data authentication, trustworthiness, and integrity (EN 18246)
• Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for product passport lifecycle management and searchability (EN 18222)

A first version of these documents was made public between July and September 2025 for comments, and the review and approval process for the final version of these European standards is currently underway. It is reasonably expected to be completed by the first half of 2026.

Two key points are worth highlighting:

• these standards constitute a toolkit from which the most appropriate elements will be selected in the delegated acts for each sector (for example, the data carriers to be used to link the passport to the physical product);
• these standards do not contain any references or semantics related to the data included in the DPP or to sector-specific information. These aspects will have to be specified later, most likely in the sectoral delegated act or in subsequent decisions.

These specifications are particularly important for those who intend to provide DPP-related services or to implement company-level infrastructure that will operate alongside the centralized European registry.

Official website

Presentation of JTC 24 activities