From 7th to 11th July, the Responsible Business Helpdesk (RBH) Pakistan, supported by the German development cooperation, hosted an awareness session on the Digital Product Passport (DPP) in Lahore and Karachi, Pakistan, bringing together around 100 stakeholders from the textile industry. The event provided a unique platform for participants from sustainability, IT, and compliance departments to learn how the DPP can strengthen traceability, transparency, and compliance, particularly in the context of the EU Green Deal and evolving global buyer requirements.
Purpose of the Event
The textile industry is Pakistan’s largest manufacturing sector, employing nearly 15 million people and contributing 8.5% to the national GDP. As the 9th largest exporter of textile commodities worldwide, it represents about 40% of the total labour force and 38% of the manufacturing workforce.
Pakistan is also the fifth largest cotton producer and holds the third largest spinning capacity in Asia, accounting for 5% of global spinning capacity. The sector includes over 1,200 ginning units and nearly 570 spinning units of varying scales. Despite its scale and importance, the industry has faced significant challenges, with the 2022 floods and ongoing energy and foreign exchange crises leading to an estimated 700,000 job losses in 2023.
The session was designed to introduce the Digital Product Passport as a cornerstone of the European Union’s sustainability agenda. With the Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) now in effect, and DPP becoming mandatory across several product categories in the coming years (beginning with batteries in 2027, followed by textiles and furniture), the session aimed to help Pakistan’s textile sector prepare for upcoming compliance obligations.
The goal was not only to raise awareness but also to provide participants with practical insights into how DPP can:
- Drive sustainable production practices,
- Enable product-specific transparency rather than brand-level claims,
- Support traceability across the supply chain,
- Contribute to circular economy goals through reuse, repair, recycling, and reduced resource consumption.
The Lead Trainer: Dr Fahim Chowdhury
The awareness session was led by Dr Fahim Chowdhury, the Chief Executive Officer of Technovative Solutions Ltd. (TVS) and Chairperson of DigiProd Pass Ltd., our specialist wing solely focused on Digital Product Passports. He was invited as a senior consultant with GOPA Worldwide Consultants. Dr Chowdhury brings a unique combination of leadership, academic expertise, and consultancy experience in digital transformation, particularly in the fields of sustainability, circular economy, and supply chain innovation.
Through his work with TVS, he has contributed to European Union initiatives that advance responsible business practices, promote eco-design, and integrate digital tools such as blockchain and data spaces to enhance traceability and transparency across industries. His leadership at TVS has also placed him at the forefront of Horizon Europe projects and international collaborations addressing the intersection of technology and sustainability.
In Lahore, Dr Chowdhury conducted a four-day training session that provided participants with in-depth guidance on the technical, regulatory, and practical aspects of the Digital Product Passport (DPP). The programme combined detailed case studies, interactive group work, and structured exercises to help textile sector stakeholders build a hands-on understanding of the DPP framework.
In Karachi, a one-day awareness session was organised, where Dr Chowdhury introduced the key concepts of DPP and its relevance to exporters, with a focus on helping industry professionals grasp the compliance requirements of EU markets and the opportunities for innovation in building digital, transparent, and future-ready supply chains.
Topics Covered During the Session
The programme was structured into four main sessions, each of which addressed a different dimension of the Digital Product Passport.
1. Introduction to DPP and EU Regulatory Framework
Dr Chowdhury began by outlining the concept of the DPP and why it is being introduced as part of the EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan and the European Green Deal. He explained the Eco-design for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) 2024/1781, which formally entered into force in July 2024, making sustainability, durability, repairability, and transparency mandatory features for products sold in the EU.
Key points included:
- DPP will be required first for batteries (2027), and later for textiles, furniture, plastics, ICT, and other products (2028–2030).
- The DPP will cover material suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, importers, recyclers, repairers, and public authorities, creating a shared data ecosystem.
- The system is expected to have a profound impact on global supply chains, as exporters to Europe must comply with EU standards.
2. DPP Attributes and Relevance to the Textile Industry
In this session, Dr Chowdhury linked the DPP directly to the challenges of Pakistan’s textile industry, including ecological pressures, water and energy consumption, fast fashion waste, social issues such as labour rights, and the growing demand for transparency from consumers.
Highlights included:
- The need for product-specific transparency rather than general sustainability claims at the brand level.
- The complexity of textile supply chains makes traceability difficult without a digital system like DPP.
Dr Chowdhury also introduced participants to a proposed DPP model for textiles, covering phases of deployment:
- Phase 1 (2027): Minimal and simplified DPP with essential sustainability and traceability data.
- Phase 2 (2030): Advanced DPP integrating more stakeholders, automated data collection, and interoperability with systems such as ERP, PLM, and LCA tools.
- Phase 3 (2033): Full circular DPP enabling closed-loop recycling, automated impact assessments, and lifecycle tracking.
3. Technical Requirements and Implementation Challenges
The third session addressed the technical backbone of the DPP, including data standards, IT systems, and interoperability requirements. Dr Chowdhury detailed how the DPP ecosystem would rely on:
- Unique product identifiers and machine-readable data carriers (e.g., QR codes, NFC tags).
- Open, interoperable standards ensuring no vendor lock-in.
- Decentralised and secure data storage through trusted third-party providers.
- Identity and access management to ensure public authorities, companies, and consumers have access only to the information they are entitled to.
- Data spaces and APIs to support secure information exchange across stakeholders.
This session also included a group discussion on the drivers, barriers, opportunities, and challenges (DBOC framework) identified by CirPass, an EU consortium supporting DPP rollout.
- Drivers: compliance with ESPR, consumer demand for transparency, cost savings, efficiency, and resource security.
- Barriers: lack of awareness, high IT complexity, fragmented standards, unwillingness to share data, and unclear financial benefits.
- Opportunities: reduction of waste, better recycling, limiting greenwashing, and creating interoperable infrastructures.
- Challenges: ensuring data quality, achieving interoperability, addressing e-waste from tags, and balancing energy use in IT systems.
4. Case Study and Wrap-Up
The session concluded with a case study on the Digital Battery Passport as an example of how DPPs are already being implemented in Europe. Participants engaged in breakout sessions to discuss lessons learned and how these might be adapted for textiles.
Dr Chowdhury closed the event by highlighting that success depends on collaboration across the industry, appropriate selection of data points, and the establishment of a secure and trustworthy data ecosystem.
Participants and Industry Engagement
The session in Lahore attracted around 100 participants from across Pakistan’s textile and garment industry. The audience included professionals from:
- Sustainability departments, tasked with meeting global buyers’ environmental and social standards.
- IT teams, responsible for integrating digital solutions into supply chain management.
- Compliance departments to ensure adherence to EU regulations and certification requirements.
Event Outcomes
The awareness session achieved several important outcomes:
- Raised Awareness: Many participants had only a general understanding of EU sustainability requirements before the session. By the end, they had a clearer view of the specific regulations, timelines, and expectations linked to DPP.
- Capacity Building: Through group exercises, companies learned to identify drivers, barriers, opportunities, and challenges in implementing DPP. This provided a framework to assess their own organisational strengths and weaknesses.
- Practical Exposure: By examining international case studies (such as the Digital Battery Passport), participants saw how DPP is already being implemented in other sectors, offering models they can adapt.
- Stakeholder Alignment: The session connected professionals from different parts of the industry, from sourcing and manufacturing to compliance and IT, building momentum for collective action on supply chain transparency.
- Clear Next Steps: Participants left with the understanding that DPP adoption is inevitable for exporters to Europe. The session highlighted the urgency of preparing now, rather than waiting until regulations take full effect.
Going Forward
The session in Lahore was not a standalone event but part of a larger push supported by the German development cooperation (through GIZ on behalf of BMZ) to build more transparent and future-ready supply chains in Pakistan.
From this initiative, Pakistan's textile sector can expect:
- Follow-up sessions focusing on sector-specific data requirements, pilot testing, and technical solutions.
- Closer engagement with EU regulations, as delegated acts for textiles and furniture are due in the next few years.
- Increased buyer pressure, as European brands will increasingly demand product-level transparency backed by DPP, meaning suppliers who adapt early will have a competitive edge.
- Practical adoption pathways, as the EU timeline progresses (2027–2033), companies will move from simplified DPPs to more advanced systems fully supporting circular economy models like reuse, repair, and recycling.
- Opportunities for innovation, since businesses investing in digital traceability will not only meet compliance but can also unlock cost savings, efficiency gains, and stronger buyer relationships.
Closing Thoughts
The Digital Product Passport Awareness Session in Pakistan marked a turning point for the country’s textile sector, aligning it more closely with global sustainability agendas and EU regulatory requirements.
By introducing the concept of DPP, unpacking its technical foundations, and linking it to both environmental realities (such as the water footprint of cotton) and economic competitiveness, the session highlighted the urgency of preparing for a new era of data-driven, transparent, and circular textile production.
As Dr Fahim Chowdhury emphasised, the success of DPP implementation will depend on collaboration, innovation, and proactive adaptation. With growing global demand for sustainable textiles, the groundwork laid in this session ensures that Pakistani manufacturers are better positioned to compete in a future where traceability and transparency are no longer optional, but mandatory.
