JRC 145830 — Methodology for the Textile Digital Product Passport
Joint Research Centre report (JRC 145830 · EUR 40660 · 2026) with the official methodology for defining the DPP data requirements under the ESPR framework. Technical basis of the delegated acts.
Context
JRC 145830 is the official scientific-technical report of the Joint Research Centre that articulates the DPP data specification methodology under the ESPR framework. It is not a binding rule in itself: it is the institutional methodological guide that orients the preparatory studies and the drafting of the sectoral delegated acts (textile among them) that will be binding. The MVP Spec §7.4 #10 lists it as a key glossary term for its role as the scientific-technical anchor of DPP operations.
Document identification
Official title: «Methodology for defining the data requirements of the Digital Product Passport under the ESPR framework». Identifiers: JRC145830 · EUR 40660 · ISBN 978-92-68-38389-6 · doi:10.2760/4511279. Authors: Chawla K., Chirvasuta T., Wolf M.-A., Wolf K., Rongen S., Rurup R., Gonzalez Torres M., Naumann G., Arcipowska A. Published by the Publications Office of the European Union (Luxembourg, 2026) under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. For permanent access: https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2760/4511279 · institutional reference JRC145830.
Legal nature and scope
«This report presents a practical, step-by-step methodology to define Digital Product Passports (DPPs) requirements under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), and why it should be included.»
View verbatim quote in English
“This report presents a practical, step-by-step methodology to define Digital Product Passports (DPPs) requirements under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), and why it should be included.”
The report is a European Commission publication with scientific-technical value. It does not necessarily reflect the official position of the Commission (standard JRC editorial disclaimer). Its regulatory function is to provide methodological support to the MEErP/ESPR preparatory studies and to the preparation of the sectoral delegated acts that will set the binding content of the DPP by product group.
Structure of the methodology (4 steps)
Defines the product scope and the policy context, identifies the relevant stakeholders, reviews the applicable legal requirements and analyses existing industry practices to assess feasibility and proportionality.
Identifies and validates the policy- and operationally-relevant DPP use cases and translates them into conceptual data needs. These needs are prioritised on the basis of relevance, feasibility and value for users.
Aligns the identified data needs with existing vocabularies and ontologies, specifies data granularity, access rights and governance arrangements, and ensures semantic coherence and interoperability.
Validates and refines the proposed DPP data specification through internal coherence checks and consultation with relevant stakeholders.
Unique DPP identifiers (foundational category)
JRC 145830 establishes that product identification is a foundational element of the DPP under the ESPR framework, because it enables linking, accessing and reusing product-related information reliably in a digital and interoperable manner. The ESPR sets out general requirements for the use of three types of unique identifiers that function as technical and semantic references linking the DPP data to the relevant entities.
A unique string of characters used to identify an economic operator involved in the product value chain, supporting the attribution of responsibilities and the linking of product information to the relevant actor.
A unique string of characters used to identify locations or facilities involved in the product value chain, where such identification is relevant to the information requirements defined in the delegated act.
DPP content categories (Art. 9 + Annex III ESPR)
JRC 145830 systematises the categories of information that may be required in the DPP under Art. 9(2)(a) ESPR and Annex III: (i) product and producer identification, (ii) product-specific information parameters of Art. 7(2)(b) (durability, reparability, reusability, upgradability, energy and resource efficiency), (iii) information requirements on substances of concern of Art. 7(5), and (iv) information requirements under other Union law applicable to the product group. The categories are completed with non-functional requirements (clarity, accessibility, interoperability, format, data retention) and with the data carrier that links the physical product to its digital twin.
Integration with MEErP and inheritance from the Battery Regulation
The JRC 145830 methodology integrates with the Methodology for Ecodesign of Energy-related Products (MEErP), the institutional framework that orients the preparatory studies under ecodesign and the ESPR. The report also draws on the experience of the battery passport under Reg. (EU) 2023/1542 (Battery Regulation), which is the first operational case of a mandatory digital passport in the Union. That methodological inheritance explains why the decisions on identifiers, granularity (model, batch or item), access rights and data architecture of the textile DPP have a verifiable prior technical anchor.
Applied case
A textile brand preparing its DPP for the ESPR textile delegated act foreseen in the Working Plan COM(2025) 187 can use the JRC 145830 methodology as an internal roadmap to anticipate data requirements before the publication of the delegated act.
Step A · scope and context. The brand delimits the scope (clothing, footwear, textile accessories), reviews the applicable legal requirements (ESPR Art. 7, 9, 10; sectoral rule Reg. 1007/2011 on textile names; REACH; SCIP) and analyses its current data collection practices to assess the feasibility of incorporating DPP fields into its existing ERP/PIM.
Step B · use cases and data needs. It identifies DPP use cases relevant to textiles (market surveillance, consumer information at point of sale, recycler decisions at end of life, multi-tier traceability for CSDDD due diligence) and translates each use case into conceptual data needs (fibre composition, country of origin per stage, presence of SVHC, estimated durability in wash cycles).
Step C · design and development. It aligns the identified needs with existing vocabularies (GS1 Digital Link as a URI scheme, W3C Verifiable Credentials as a format for verifiable claims, pre-existing textile ontologies), specifies granularity (model, batch or item depending on the use case), defines access rights by role (public consumer vs. surveillance authority with reserved access) and establishes the governance of updates throughout the life cycle (Annex 9 JRC 145830).
Step D · validation and consultation. It validates the internal proposal with coherence checks (each DPP field has an associated use case, a verifiable data source and a defined access right) and consults stakeholders (tier 1 suppliers, recyclers, national market surveillance authority) before freezing the internal specification.
Unique identifiers. The brand implements UPI at model level for the general catalogue, UPI at item level for premium or individually traceable collections, UOI for each economic operator in the chain (manufacturer, importer, distributor, fulfilment) and UFI for the relevant tier 1 and tier 2 facilities (weaving plant, dyeing plant). That tri-identifier structure anticipates the future harmonised UPI/UOI/UFI.
Common mistakes
JRC 145830 is NOT a binding rule: it is an institutional scientific-technical report.
The binding rule is Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 ESPR. JRC 145830 is a scientific-technical publication of the European Commission via the Joint Research Centre with methodological, not legal, value. Its function is to orient the MEErP/ESPR preparatory studies and the drafting of the sectoral delegated acts that will be binding. The standard JRC editorial disclaimer specifies: «the content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the European Commission».
JRC 145830 does NOT replace the sectoral delegated acts: it methodologically precedes them.
The binding content of the DPP by product group will be set by the sectoral delegated acts (textile among them) foreseen in the Working Plan COM(2025) 187 final. JRC 145830 is the methodology that feeds the preparatory studies justifying those delegated acts. The brand should plan in line with JRC 145830 as anticipation, without assuming that it replaces the textile delegated act that will bind it once published.
UPI, UOI and UFI are DISTINCT and non-interchangeable identifiers.
UPI identifies the product and links to the DPP. UOI identifies the economic operator (manufacturer, importer, distributor, fulfilment) and supports the attribution of responsibilities. UFI identifies facilities (weaving plant, dyeing plant, logistics warehouse) where relevant under the delegated act. Confusing them breaks traceability: the UPI cannot be used to identify the producer, nor can the UFI be used to identify the product.
The JRC 145830 methodology does NOT impose a concrete technical architecture: it defines the WHAT, not the HOW.
The Abstract itself specifies: «the technical aspects of the DPP system are addressed only to the limited extent necessary to inform decisions on access rights, data governance and granularity. The detailed system design and its implementation remain out of scope». The concrete technical architecture of the DPP system is a separate subject of CIRPASS-2 (D3.2 DPP System Architecture) and of the standardisation work in CEN/CENELEC/JTC 24.
JRC 145830 is NOT the same as CIRPASS-2: they are complementary pieces.
JRC 145830 sets the methodology for defining the DPP data requirements (which data to include and why). CIRPASS-2 (an EU pilot project funded under the DIGITAL-2021-TRUST-01 programme) proposes the reference architecture of the DPP system (how to store and exchange those data). They are complementary pieces of the same institutional ecosystem: one orients the content, the other orients the technical infrastructure.
Frequently asked questions
What is JRC 145830?
The official scientific-technical report of the Joint Research Centre published in 2026 (JRC 145830 · EUR 40660 · ISBN 978-92-68-38389-6 · doi:10.2760/4511279) that sets the methodology for defining the data requirements of the Digital Product Passport under Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 ESPR. Official citation: Chawla K. et al., «Methodology for defining the data requirements of the Digital Product Passport under the ESPR framework», Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2026.
Is JRC 145830 binding for textile brands?
No. JRC 145830 is an institutional scientific-technical publication with methodological, not legal, value. The binding rule is Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 ESPR. JRC 145830 orients the MEErP/ESPR preparatory studies and the drafting of the sectoral delegated acts (textile among them) that will be binding once published.
What steps does the JRC 145830 methodology have?
Four sequential steps. Step A · Scope and context: scope, stakeholders, legal requirements, industry practices. Step B · Use cases and data needs: identification and validation of use cases, translation into prioritised conceptual needs. Step C · Design and development: alignment with existing vocabularies, granularity, access rights, governance. Step D · Validation and consultation: internal checks and consultation with stakeholders.
What unique identifiers does JRC 145830 define for the DPP?
Three types derived from Art. 2 ESPR. UPI (Unique Product Identifier · a unique string identifying the product and enabling a digital link to the DPP). UOI (Unique Operator Identifier · identifies the economic operator in the value chain). UFI (Unique Facility Identifier · identifies facilities where relevant under the delegated act). Box 1 JRC 145830 defines the UPI following Art. 2 ESPR literally.
How does JRC 145830 relate to CIRPASS-2?
They are complementary pieces of the institutional DPP ecosystem. JRC 145830 sets the methodology for defining the DPP data requirements (what to include and why). CIRPASS-2 proposes the reference architecture of the DPP system (how to store and exchange those data). JRC 145830 itself expressly cites CIRPASS in its references (Section 1.1 introduction) as a methodological input.
Does JRC 145830 cover the technical architecture of the DPP system?
Not fully. The Abstract specifies: «the technical aspects of the DPP system are addressed only to the limited extent necessary to inform decisions on access rights, data governance and granularity. The detailed system design and its implementation remain out of scope». The concrete architecture is a separate subject of CIRPASS-2 and of the standardisation work in CEN/CENELEC/JTC 24.
Fuentes oficiales
- Joint Research Centre · Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 20262026Institutional scientific-technical report · CC BY 4.0
- European Parliament and Council · OJEU OJ L of 28.6.202413 jun 2024Binding standard of origin
- European Parliament and Council · OJEU12 jul 2023Methodological precedent standard
- Communication COM(2025) 187 final · ESPR Working Plan 2025-2030 scheduling the textile delegated actEuropean Commission · Brussels16 abr 2025Communication · sectoral working plan
