How to turn your DPP requirements into retail opportunities

Checkpoint Systems is a Business Reporter client

James Barker, Director of Global Product Solutions at Checkpoint Systems, reveals how the right DPP solution can yield real business benefits for clothing retailers.

Have you started planning your digital product passport (DPP) rollout? At the time of writing, the legislation will come into effect by 2028 and will impact all retailers putting apparel into the European market. The new legislation won’t just fundamentally change the future of retail from the consumer’s perspective; it’ll irrevocably alter business infrastructure too. And each day brings the deadline closer.

However daunting DPP implementation may seem, there are plenty of sustainability and business benefits to be gained as part of the transformation. Investing in the right digital platform and labelling combination could expedite ROI, improve efficiency, lower costs and achieve sustainability goals.

DPP legislation is part of the European Commission’s Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP) and a fundamental pillar of the European Green Deal. CEAP aims to promote circular economy processes by encouraging thoughtful product and packaging design and waste reduction. To help keep things transparent, some of this information will be available to customers through DPPs.

A Digital Product Passport has two components: a centrally stored, digital source of product information and a DPP ‘carrier’ that is permanently attached to the product. Shoppers can scan the DPP carrier label with a smartphone and access that item’s digital product information. This information should be easy to access on the shop floor and available until the end of that product’s lifespan.

To comply with DPP legislation, you’ll need to gather environmental data on new and existing products, completely overhaul garment labelling and find a secure digital platform to store all that information for a decade or more. Given the dual challenge of compliant labelling and secure infrastructure, retailers should aim to find a partner experienced in both, with the proven ability to help secure a fast return on investment. With that in mind, our apparel labelling team developed CheckLINQ.

CheckLINQ is Checkpoint System’s data-centric answer to the digital component of DPP legislation and sits alongside our various compliant labelling options to give Checkpoint clients a scalable end-to-end solution.

The platform, which we’ve already successfully piloted with an international apparel retailer, offers encrypted, GDPR-compliant information storage for millions of item-level data points. It uses robust APIs to pull product information from almost anywhere and sorts it into a compliant, customer-ready format.

Although details on specific DPP data points aren’t expected until late 2025, CheckLINQ’s back-end can easily be modified to accommodate new information – as a CIRPASS2 member, we’re well-placed to understand the requirements as and when they happen. Adopting now can help future-focused retailers get ahead while being flexible enough to give compliance for other environmental legislations, such as France’s AGEC (currently live), which CheckLINQ has already been successfully piloted for.

CheckLINQ’s data-first, flexible back-end is what sets it apart from other DPP solutions on the market. We used our years of experience managing data connections through our CheckNet platform – which currently processes data from 14 million radio-frequency identification (RFID) labels per week – to create a platform capable of reliably meeting DPP requirements with seamless ease.

It’s possible to reduce your carbon footprint and stock costs by using intelligent labelling solutions such as RFID as part of your DPP labelling overhaul. RFID inlays can provide quality data and inventory transparency with up to 99 per cent accuracy throughout your supply chain.

Knowing exactly what you have and where can facilitate more accurate forecasting, smarter ordering and better allocation while allowing location-based merchandising, faster replenishment and reallocation. You’ll send less deadstock to landfill, potentially reduce your carbon footprint and unlock the full value of your stock.

Your DPP labelling overhaul could also be an excellent opportunity to stamp out grey market activities, safeguard your brand and inspire consumer confidence. By integrating our NFC dual technology inlays or anti-clone QR codes into your new labels, you can empower consumers and authorised pre-loved resellers with the ability to verify genuine items with the scan of a smartphone. There’s even potential to expand into innovative new areas, such as creating one-off digital twins or NFTs for your products. It’s all possible with the right labelling partner.

According to PwC’s Voice of the Consumer Survey 2024, nearly a third of respondents felt transparency around environmental, societal and governance matters was crucial in establishing better brand trust. Consumers can use a DPP to verify your green claims at the point of purchase, complete with specific details such as your Higg Index score, which can be integrated easily via CheckLINQ.

You could even take things one step further by upgrading to our NFC-enabled DU? labels to create new opportunities for interactive smartphone-based in-store experiences. In a future where consumers are increasingly bringing their phones into the purchasing journey, it’s an incredible opportunity to upsell, inspire and engage.

For many retailers, the upcoming DPP rollout will be a massive undertaking. If that weren’t enough incentive to seek expert guidance, the slew of potential business and customer benefits attached to your label and platform choices certainly are.

Partners such as Checkpoint have experience managing data connections with proven data integrity through CheckNet and decades of experience supporting some of the world’s largest retailers with apparel labelling projects.

We believe DPP legislation goes beyond environmental accountability and transparency; it’s also an opportunity to kickstart a new era for your brand. One that drives better value for you, your customers and the planet.

For more information on Checkpoint System’s DPP-compliant labelling solutions and new CheckLINQ platform, visit our DPP hub today.