Türkiye’s ready-to-wear sector views the European Union’s upcoming Digital Product Passport mandate for textiles as a major opportunity to gain a competitive edge.
Designed to ensure transparency and traceability in the textile industry under the EU’s Green Deal objectives, the passport acts as a digital identity that records a product’s entire journey from the field to the retail shelf via a digital dataset.
The application will document the environmental impact of a product by including critical data such as raw material origin, water and energy consumption, carbon footprint and recyclability. Both consumers and customs officials will be able to access this information using QR codes displayed on the products.
Çağlar Bağcı, President of the Aegean Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Exporters’ Association, said that the sector’s preparations for the passport are ongoing.
Noting that they are informing manufacturers through training sessions and seminars, Bağcı explained that they are running a “Support the Development of International Competitiveness” (UR-GE) project to address this issue.
Bağcı emphasized that the system requires a rigorous tracking process starting directly from the cotton fields. “Contrary to what some might think, the digital product passport is an advantage for the Turkish ready-to-wear sector,” Bağcı said. “While adaptation is manageable for the Turkish apparel industry, it will be much harder for our competitors in countries like the Far East, Bangladesh, Vietnam and China,” he explained.
“Therefore, I believe that what currently appears to be a disadvantage will actually turn into an advantage for our exports and customer acquisition in the future, thanks to our sector’s adaptability,” Bağcı added. “Companies that fail to adapt will suffer, but we are actively continuing our efforts to prevent that from happening,” he said.
Bağcı warned of the financial consequences for businesses that lag behind. “If manufacturers cannot provide the product passport, additional taxes will be imposed by the European Union,” he stated. “It will not necessarily mean being blocked at customs, but they will face extra taxes and additional costs,” he said.
“This, of course, will prevent them from offering their products competitively to the market,” Bağcı continued. “No company without this product passport will be able to survive in the market over the medium term.”
“Initially, large corporations and major buyers will implement this,” Bağcı noted. “Then, depending on the scale, it will trickle down over the years and within the next three to five years, it will have spread across the entire sector,” he said.
Meanwhile, Yasin Akçakaya, Chairman of the Board of the Aegean Clothing Manufacturers Association, observed that the sector is not yet fully prepared for the digital product passport, though software infrastructure is developing rapidly.
Stressing that gaining control over every stage of the production processes is of critical importance, Akçakaya said, “The sector needs to take this path into account immediately and determine its strategy.”
