Digital Product Passports: AEPC and Green Story Pilot Covers 25 Exporters

15 September 2026: The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) and Green Story presented a digital product passport pilot involving 25 Indian exporters at Bharat Tex 2026 in New Delhi in July. The programme let buyers scan product information at exhibition stalls, offering exporters a practical introduction to digital transparency as European product rules develop.

Green Story’s official announcement record dates the pilot to 14 July 2026. The exhibition took place at Bharat Mandapam from 14-17 July, as detailed in Screen Print India’s Bharat Tex event preview.

What did the digital product passports show?

According to Green Story’s pilot announcement, buyers could scan QR codes at participating manufacturers’ stalls to see a product’s carbon footprint, material composition and supply-chain journey. The company described the initiative as a national programme led jointly with AEPC.

The practical purpose was to bring product data into sourcing discussions. Digital traceability already has a presence at the exhibition. Screen Print India previously covered CottonConnect’s TraceBale platform, a QR-based farm-to-fashion traceability tool presented at the 2025 edition. That earlier example provides context, although it is not evidence of an equivalent DPP programme.

Secondary data provides a starting point

Green Story said participating exporters used its AI-enabled sustainability platform to create live passports within weeks. It reported that the initial framework used verified secondary life cycle assessment (LCA) data, with a pathway to add primary facility data over time.

For smaller exporters, the distinction matters: a working passport can establish a way to organise and share information, while the underlying evidence still needs attention. Buyers should examine the data sources and assessment boundaries rather than treating a QR code itself as proof of environmental performance.

Does a live passport establish EU compliance?

No. The European Commission’s ESPR guidance explains that the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation entered into force on 18 July 2024 as framework legislation. It provides for subsequent product-specific or horizontal rules, including requirements governing passport information.

The Commission says DPP contents will depend on the product concerned. Potential information includes material origins, repair activities, recycling capabilities and lifecycle environmental impacts. A functioning pilot therefore demonstrates preparation, not automatic compliance with all applicable or future EU requirements.

Why production records matter beyond the pilot

For garment manufacturers and textile processors, the useful next step is to identify which product records they can substantiate and where supplier information remains incomplete. Publishing data and proving its accuracy are different jobs.

Traceability also reaches beyond sourcing. Screen Print India’s coverage of ReFiber’s textile recovery project describes tracking in post-consumer collection and recovery. The AEPC-Green Story pilot addresses a different stage: making product information available when buyers evaluate suppliers.