Digital Product Information NFC Product Passports Pave the Way to a Circular Economy

Related Vendors

NXP Semiconductors

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

The decision of what to do with older consumer goods is not easy for many consumers. Digital product passports with NFC technology are intended to help.

Should a defective device be repaired or replaced? Because it is unclear how long older products will continue to function reliably, making an informed decision is often difficult. Similarly, assessing items that are rarely used anymore is challenging: Wouldn't it make sense to pass them on or sell them so someone else can still benefit from them?

All these everyday considerations deserve serious attention. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), global resource consumption has tripled since 1970 and is expected to double again by 2060. Responsible handling of used consumer goods is therefore becoming increasingly important. Yet products are often discarded too early, and their lifespan is reduced because consumers lack information about origin, CO₂ footprint, spare parts, or maintenance history. Greater transparency in these areas can lead to more conscious purchasing decisions, extend product life cycles, and simultaneously help reduce waste.

Digital Product Passports (DPPs) offer a promising solution in this regard. They enable seamless traceability from the manufacturing process to the end of a product's lifecycle. By integrating NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, which is already available in billions of devices worldwide, digital profiles can be embedded directly into products and easily accessed with NFC-enabled readers. Consumers can thus gain immediate access to relevant information with a simple tap of their smartphone, enabling them to make more sustainable purchasing decisions.

Sustainability in Focus

A digital product passport (DPP) is a digital record that documents essential information about a product throughout its lifecycle. With the DPP, the European Union aims to create transparency regarding supply chains, materials, environmental impacts, and recyclability of products—for businesses, consumers, and authorities alike.

The DPP is part of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which aims to make sustainable products the norm in the EU market. It applies to a wide range of consumer goods sold within the EU. Currently, the EU's focus is primarily on clothing and consumer electronics. The full implementation of digital product passports is expected to be completed by 2030. By then, numerous products in the EU single market—with the exception of food, feed, and pharmaceuticals—will need to meet the requirements for digital product passports. This regulatory pressure promotes more sustainable practices across all product categories, and similar regulations are being discussed in other regions of the world.

Another planned measure is the EU Battery Regulation, which will come into effect in February 2027. It requires every industrial battery sold in the EU to be equipped with a digital product passport.

However, without innovative solutions, compliance with the requirements for digital product information in global supply and usage chains can hardly be ensured. This is where NFC technology combined with robust product data management comes into play. In many industries, NFC tags have already proven their worth as data carriers and offer significant advantages over alternatives like QR codes.

The Advantages of NFC

NFC technology offers various access options to digital product information, both via URLs to online platforms and through local data storage on an NFC tag embedded in the product itself. Cryptographic security features ensure robust data authenticity and integrity, as well as precise access rights, keeping sensitive information protected throughout the product's lifecycle. Relevant product details remain reliably retrievable for many years, as NFC data carriers can store data for ten to fifty years.

NFC tags can be flexibly attached to product surfaces or integrated into the product to protect them from wear and tear. The ability to update stored data locally even afterwards allows manufacturers and consumers to easily record important events and status changes throughout the product lifecycle. NFC tags are universally compatible with NFC-enabled devices, such as modern smartphones. At the same time, enhanced data protection can be ensured through special chip functions to prevent traceability to individual owners.

NFC tags ensure permanent, reliable access to stored information throughout the entire usage period, making them ideal for digital product passports. The unique digital identifier of a product can be securely managed in the cloud, providing manufacturers, retailers, consumers, repair, and recycling companies with a reliable foundation for greater transparency and control.

Relevant Product Information At A Glance

Industries aiming to better support their products throughout their entire lifecycle are among the pioneers in adopting NFC-enabled digital product passports. Thanks to their versatility, NFC technology can be used in numerous sectors.

NFC tags enable quick access to key product information, repair manuals, and spare part data. This simplifies maintenance and extends the lifespan of devices. Service technicians gain immediate access to specifications and product history, enhancing efficiency. In the automotive industry, for example, NFC-enabled digital product passports are already being used to make batteries traceable, comply with legal requirements, and support optimal battery management and recycling.

Consumers also benefit: they can better understand a product's origin, material composition, and CO₂ footprint, as well as easily access care and repair instructions. In the luxury goods industry, digital product information also helps prevent counterfeits and unauthorized sales channels. Thanks to specialized NFC security technology, the authenticity of a product can be easily verified, and its journey from origin to sale can be transparently tracked.

Particularly in the luxury goods industry, many approaches to a circular economy are emerging, from repair services and charitable donations of used products to resales on second-hand/second-life markets based on clear proof of ownership. Digital product passports also create added value in the furniture industry: they can verify sustainable manufacturing processes, prove the use of eco-friendly or recycled materials, and facilitate access to high-quality repair services.

Creating A More Sustainable Future

NFC technology and digital product passports are paving the way for a smarter and more sustainable future. As consumer goods become integrated into IoT networks, companies gain real-time insights into product supply and usage chains. This enables optimized design, efficient manufacturing, and resource-saving recycling at the end of the lifecycle. With the increasing adoption of digital product identities, the potential of NFC to foster trust and transparency will transform the way consumers interact with products and brands. Greater sustainability will then be just a smartphone tap away.

By Sylvia Kaiser-Kershaw, Senior Global Marketing Management, PL Secure Transactions & Identification at NXP, and Zanghee Cho, Senior Product Manager at NXP

Agricultural Engineering

Smart and Efficient: An Opportunity for Automotive Suppliers?