Aquinos Bedding director Benjamin Marien draws attention to the alarming fact that 30 million mattresses in Europe end their useful lives every year. Unfortunately, most of these mattresses are burned or land in landfills.
The European Union is introducing DPP Digital product passports as a component of its sustainability initiatives. These passports gather information about a product’s composition, manufacturing process, environmental impact, and history.
Most of its new products, which produce 1.2 million mattresses annually, use polyester coverings. Choosing this option facilitates recycling more easily than mattresses composed of non-separating mixed materials.
Marien notices that more and more programs are being launched to recycle and disassemble mattresses. He stresses that these efforts will be limited if dismantlers are ignorant of the mattress’s composition. Marien is excited by the idea of the digital product passport.
Starting in 2027, DPPs will be required for batteries used in industrial and electric car applications. By 2030, an 80% chance is that other product categories, like textiles, will do the same.
According to Dr. Natacha Tréhan, a procurement and circular economy specialist at the University of Grenoble Alpes, the European Commission thinks that providing consumers more information through the EU digital product passport can influence producers and distributors to offer more environmentally friendly goods. The use of eco-design will rise. This makes me very delighted because the design phase determines 80% of the environmental impact.”
Some industry consortiums, like the Global Battery Alliance, work together to develop standards. These include deciding what should be included in the European Commission’s digital product passport and ensuring consistent definitions. Dr. Tréhan argues that collaboration is essential, saying that “working in isolation is impractical.” She sees digital product passports as a perfect example of the value of working with rival companies and those in one’s supplier chain.
Aquinos hopes to have one million mattresses tagged by 2027 and intends to introduce digital product passports this year.
There are two ways that these passports will be attached to the mattresses. First, customers will be able to learn more about the origin and content of the mattress by scanning the QR code provided. To help extend the product’s life, the DPP may also include information on washability and warranties. Second, recyclers can access the passport thanks to an RFID tag inserted inside the mattress. This technique makes automatic scanning easier and guarantees the passport won’t fade or come off accidentally.
To launch DPPs, Aquinos has teamed up with Avery Dennison, a provider of a full implementation service that includes digital ID technology, hardware, software, and labels, and TripleR, an expert in digital product passports for bedding.
Senior director of atma.io at Avery Dennison Michael Goller says, “We don’t create new data as part of our methodology. Rather, we incorporate into already-existing systems.”
He says, “While the technologies involved, such as QR codes, RFID, and cloud computing, are not novel, combining them to address a new challenge fosters innovation.”
Nobody’s Child carried out a digital product passport trial using their autumn/winter 2023 collection. The organization had the chance to assess the procedure with this collection, which showcased a wide range of suppliers and textiles. By the end of 2024, Nobody’s Child wants all its items to come with passports.
The creator of Nobody’s Child, Andrew Xeni, says, “A digital product passport has to last for the duration of the product, per legal requirements.” He continues, “Currently, the most feasible option we have found, which is commercially viable, is a woven label, similar to a wash care label.”
He says that factories know how to apply it and that a straightforward QR code can carry the DPP. “When scanned, it directs you to a web page unique to that specific unit,” he says. “Not just the style or size, but the exact item in your possession.”
Since producers frequently obtain components and raw materials from several vendors, products with comparable appearances may have different carbon footprints. These disparities will be reflected in the DPP’s data.
Mr. Xeni believes that official confirmation of DPP data will be necessary.
“The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive will hold companies responsible for the accuracy of the data they report, including the assertions made on their digital product passports.”
Supplies have been asked to provide information for material passports by engineers Waterman and architect Fletcher Priest to construct the new building at 100 Fetter Lane in London. The project, expected to be finished this year, includes several passport layers covering the building’s materials and components.
These passports cover the elevated access floor, precast, in-situ concrete, and structural steel. Taken together, they are thought to make up more than 80% of the building’s mass.
Senior associate Mark Sutton of Fletcher Priest Architects said, “The precast elements on the façade have been designed with bolted connections, facilitating their easy removal in one piece for potential reuse in alternative locations and configurations.”
At the end of the building’s lifecycle, the materials are documented to enable their reusability as component parts for precast elements and facilitate recycling,” he states. “We foresee the existence of widespread databases and a marketplace for these materials and components at that juncture.”
