Digital twins are making their way into fashion, but what will they actually look like in practice? As the industry prepares for the rollout of the Digital Product Passport (DPP) under the ESPR, one big question remains: how will we bring this digital layer of product information to life? At Delogue, we see the DPP as more than just another compliance requirement. It’s the moment where data meets design, where your product gets its digital identity. But how that identity is presented, and how customers will actually use it, is what the industry needs to start figuring out right now.
So what do we really mean when we talk about a digital twin? In simple terms, it’s the digital version of your product, a space where all verified information about materials, production, care instructions, and more lives together. Think of it as the online reflection of your physical product, brought to life through the DPP. It is the framework that makes this possible, turning your product data into something accessible and, most importantly, useful for everyone in the value chain.
The DPP, or Digital Product Passport, is part of the ESPR regulation that officially came into force in 2024. We’re now waiting for the specific textile regulation, also known as the delegated act. The purpose of the DPP is clearly stated in the legislation: to make information available to actors along the entire value chain. But just as important, it’s also meant to help customers make informed choices by giving them access to relevant information. That’s why we like to think of it as the product’s digital twin, a reflection of your garment, made to be shared, understood, and interacted with.
Let’s take a cashmere sweater as an example. Through its digital twin, a customer could scan a code and instantly see where the wool came from, how the yarn was spun, how to care for it properly, and even what to do when it eventually reaches the end of its life. It’s not about overwhelming them with technical data, it’s about telling the story behind the piece in a simple and visual way. That’s why we like to think of the digital twin as more than a compliance requirement. It’s your product’s digital identity, and it should be presented with the same pride as the garment itself. After all, customers don’t speak in data points. They speak in design, texture, and feeling.
So, how do we actually make the digital twin accessible to customers? That’s still a bit of an open question. The ESPR regulation doesn’t say much yet about how the Digital Product Passport should be presented, it only mentions an “ESPR label,” which will likely include a score system based on the data behind the product. That means, for now, it’s up to the industry to experiment and figure out what works best. At Delogue, we’re doing just that through the SwePass project, where we’re testing different ways to bring the DPP to life in fashion.
Right now, most conversations circle around two main options: QR codes or chips like RFID. QR codes are visible, low-cost, and easy to add, for example, printed directly on a care label, giving the customer instant access to product details with a quick scan. RFID, on the other hand, is embedded. You don’t see it, but it can be scanned in bulk, making it perfect for logistics, returns, resale, and recycling later in the product’s life. The catch? It’s pricier and needs to survive the full journey of the garment, long after the care label has faded or been cut out.
In the end, it may not be about choosing one over the other. Some brands are already experimenting with both, QR for customers, RFID for operations. That hybrid connected setup might just be the future, with visible codes for storytelling and invisible ones for efficiency. The key is to think about it early in the design phase, so the digital twin can follow the product from its first stitch to its second life.
Since the DPP is meant to serve the consumer, it’s crucial that we actually manage to engage them when it becomes a reality. Because imagine spending all that time building beautifully detailed digital twins only for no one to ever scan them. That would miss the whole point, the information wouldn’t reach the customer, and there’d be no foundation for making informed choices around transparency or circularity. And that, after all, is what the DPP is meant to encourage.
This is also where the question of QR versus chip comes in again. Will customers even know it exists if it’s hidden? Visibility matters, and so does curiosity. The DPP can’t just be another technical requirement, it has to be an experience to succeed.
Some brands are already exploring how to make it more meaningful, turning the DPP into more than a data carrier. It can become a new kind of touchpoint, a small digital window into your brand universe. We actually ran a workshop with London College of Fashion and Pas Normal Studios where students explored exactly that, how to spark curiosity and give customers a reason to scan. Think product storytelling, aftercare tips, or exclusive content. It’s a new way of branding yourself, one that merges storytelling with technology, and it will take a little creativity (and yes, some communication effort) to get there.
So where does all the information behind the digital twin actually come from? Every scan, whether it’s a QR code or a chip, needs to pull from a reliable source, and that’s where your PLM steps in. Think of it as the backstage area of your brand’s digital story. It’s where every detail lives: materials, trims, suppliers, measurements, origins, and even those final care instructions.
For the digital product passport to work, all of that data needs to flow seamlessly between systems. The DPP won’t live in one place, it’ll draw from your PLM, your ERP, your PIM maybe even your sustainability tools. That’s why integrations are key. They make sure the data moves where it needs to, without anyone having to spend hours exporting and re-formatting spreadsheets.
But here’s the beauty of it: the groundwork for all of this already happens in your PLM. It’s the place where data is created, structured, and kept up to date, long before it becomes the polished, consumer-facing version you see through a scan. And when it’s all connected, the transition from “internal product data” to “digital twin” feels almost effortless. So while the QR or chip might be what the customer interacts with, it’s really your PLM doing the heavy lifting in the background.
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