Industry: Fashion sector, online guidelines on sustainability

An international team coordinated by ENEA has developed guidelines ^[1] for collecting traceability and sustainability data in the fashion sector. These guidelines support companies in complying with future European regulatory obligations, such as the introduction of the Digital Product Passport (DPP), which is planned for 2027. The document, published by the European Committee for Standardisation,  was drafted with the support of the Italian standardisation body UNI, together with experts from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) and Reverse Resource ^[2]. It was presented at an event organised by DigitX Innovation Hub, a leading centre for textile companies, retailers, and research organisations.

“These guidelines provide a technical model on how to practically collect and manage traceability and sustainability data along the entire supply chain in anticipation of the introduction of a tool such as the DPP, which promises to transform the way users access and perceive textile products and their life cycle”, explains Gessica Ciaccio, the team coordinator and researcher at ENEA’s Cross Technologies for Urban and Industrial Districts Laboratory within the Department of Energy Technologies and Renewable Sources. “However”, she adds, “the technical and non-technical requirements that companies in the sector will have to meet are still being defined”.

The guidelines offer a standardised, integrated approach to data collection, combining traceability, sustainability, and supply chain operations management within a single operational framework. This framework is enriched with practical examples and ready-to-use public resources.

The data collection methodology consists of six phases, based on pre-existing standards,  enhanced by sector-specific specification for data exchange between companies ^[3], and the integration of elements related to environmental and social sustainability  and customs controls.

More specifically, the guidelines combine the outcomes of pioneering EU initiatives, such as the TRICK project (which developed a traceability platform to support the circular economy), the  CISUTAC project (focused on optimised post-consumer waste management) and the PESCO-UP project (dedicated to the recycling of mixed textiles, such as cotton and polyester).

"These guidelines are the product of significant collaborative efforts, combining years of research and field testing. They are a valuable resource for companies, software developers, and more broadly, stakeholders across the textile and apparel ecosystem, including logistics operators, waste collectors, and recyclers. All these groups are facing a crucial phase of regulatory and digital transition in order to make production systems increasingly sustainable and circular”, Ciaccio concludes.