Core Insights - The fashion industry's efforts to implement digital product passports (DPP) may be misguided, as they are addressing the wrong problem according to a joint paper by World Collective and Kinset [1] Regulatory Frameworks - The European Union's transition to DPP highlights a significant implementation gap, with brands designated as "responsible economic operators" while the essential compliance data is held upstream by suppliers and processors [2] Accountability and Data Management - The analysis argues that a brand-led accountability model is not scalable, emphasizing the need for a distributed model supported by infrastructure across the entire value chain [3] - UNIDO assessments indicate that only 29% of firms can currently provide fiber-level data, while basic spreadsheet tracking remains effective in some regions, achieving a 93% success rate [3] Operational Challenges - The positioning paper "Making DPP Accountability Scale Across the Value Chain" stresses the necessity of shared systems and data standards to avoid DPPs becoming mere paperwork rather than accurate, real-time records [4] Upstream Data Importance - Jeanine Ballone, CEO of World Collective, asserts that DPPs cannot succeed as a brand-side reporting initiative, as credible data is generated upstream, necessitating workflows and accountability at that level [5] - Without standardized data exchange and upstream infrastructure, DPP compliance risks devolving into a "reconstruction theater," leading to fragmented and unverifiable claims instead of credible production records [5]