Who does the DPP apply to? Small brands and non-EU sellers too
Short version: if your product is placed on the EU market, the Digital Product Passport will apply to it - regardless of how small your company is and regardless of where it is registered. What changes with size and location is not whether you comply, but who in the chain carries the legal duty.
The responsible economic operator
ESPR points at the "responsible economic operator" placing a product on the EU market. Depending on the route the product takes, that is:
- the manufacturer, when based in the EU,
- the importer, when goods come from outside the EU through a distributor,
- an authorised representative, when a non-EU maker appoints one,
- in some setups the fulfilment service provider handling the goods.
No, there is no SME exemption
This is the most persistent myth. The DPP obligation is attached to the product, not to company size. A three-person label selling 500 garments a year into the EU falls under the same textile delegated act as a global brand. What SMEs do get under ESPR Article 19 is support: tools, helpdesks and possible extended transition periods for some duties. The one genuine size-based exception sits elsewhere: the ban on destroying unsold textiles does not cover micro and small companies.
Selling into the EU from outside
Three scenarios worth separating:
- You sell to an EU importer or distributor. The importer legally may not place your products on the market without a passport - so contractually and practically, the data burden lands back on you. Expect passport data to become a standard purchasing requirement, like a certificate of conformity.
- You sell direct to EU consumers (D2C, marketplaces). With no importer in the chain, responsibility effectively reaches you as the seller placing the product on the market. Marketplaces are also under growing pressure to check compliance of what they list.
- You dropship or use EU fulfilment. The fulfilment provider can be deemed the responsible operator - which means they will demand passport data from you before touching your goods.
Enforcement has teeth at the border: since the central registry went live, ESPR Article 21 provides for customs to verify a product's registration identifier electronically once a category's obligations apply. Non-compliant goods can be blocked, returned or destroyed at the importer's cost, and member states set their own penalties on top (German draft rules go up to 100 000 EUR, and higher for repeat cases).
Does it apply to products already on the market?
Obligations apply to products placed on the market after the relevant date - your existing stock does not retroactively need passports. But inventory cycles being what they are, anything you design in 2027 for the 2028-2029 seasons is exactly the stock that will cross the line for textiles.
What to do with this
Find your date in the deadline calendar, then start on data: composition, suppliers, certificates. Size does not exempt you, but it is genuinely an advantage here - a small brand can clean up its product data in weeks, while corporations need programme teams. Our complete guide walks through what a passport must contain.