A trial has begun with digital product passports looking at how they can be used to improve the traceability of mattresses and their disposal before retailers and manufacturers are legally obliged to implement sustainability rules.
The NBF and DigiProd Pass are collaborating on the pilot after the European Commission identified mattresses as a priority product group under its Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation programme after identifying their high production volumes, complex material composition, and lifecycle impact.
‘This pilot gives NBF members a practical opportunity to explore Digital Product Passports before they are formally required. Working with DigiProd Pass will help our members understand data requirements and how the correct product data supports compliance readiness, product management, and all manner of other potential benefits of digital product passports,’ says Tristine Hargreaves, NBF executive director.
Consumers and regulators are increasingly interested in product traceability, end-of-life management, and product lifecycle transparency including materials’ origins disposal, recycling, and extended producer responsibility.
The pilot will see DigiProd Pass’s DPP platform used to explore how mattress and bed manufacturing and product data can remain accessible and traceable across its lifecycle to help support compliance status and product recovery and recycling activities. While the EC has yet to decide on specific criteria, the project will focus on data points which are aligned to ESPR and other relevant product requirements.
‘Working with the NBF provides essential sector insight into how digital product passports need to function in practice. This pilot is focused on learning how product data can improve compliance readiness, enable more effective recovery and recycling outcomes in a complex, high-volume product category, as well as promote consumer confidence,’ says Sohag Salauddin, DigiProd Pass md.
‘We are appreciative of the NBF’s leadership in championing this pilot programme and bringing the sector together around practical steps that support both sustainability and compliance.’
DigiProd Pass is leading pilot projects across different industries, including clothing in Bangladesh, furniture in China and the UK, and footwear.
