Sourcing executives walking the floor at Bharat-Tex this week will find a sudden shift in the landscape at 25 Indian garment manufacturer stalls: a simple QR code that unlocks a complete Digital Product Passport (DPP). Scanning it reveals a product’s verified carbon footprint, material composition, and supply chain journey, exactly the data European buyers will soon be legally required to demand under the upcoming Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).
The live rollout is the result of a targeted pilot program between the Apparel Export Promotion Council of India (AEPC) and sustainability intelligence platform Green Story. The timing is highly strategic: the EU Central DPP Registry goes live on July 19, anchoring Europe’s sweeping new product transparency mandates.
While India’s recently concluded Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU dismantles traditional import tariffs, industry leaders warn that tariffs are no longer the only gatekeeper. Western buyers are rapidly locking down supply chains, requiring verified sustainability data as a condition for business. Without it, India’s hard-won price advantages could count for very little, turning data unreadiness into an insurmountable non-tariff barrier.
For MSMEs, building this digital infrastructure has historically meant months of expensive consultants and complex spreadsheets with costs that rarely made commercial sense.
The 25 companies in this pilot changed that narrative in a matter of weeks. Using Green Story’s AI enabled platform, each exporter generated an EU-compliant DPP covering product-level environmental footprints and material origin without needing a dedicated in-house resource. Built on verified secondary Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data, the framework gives small factories an immediate foothold in European markets while allowing them to upgrade to primary facility data over time.
“The global apparel trade is entering a new era where market access will increasingly be supported by sustainability, transparency and digital traceability. As the proposed India–European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement is expected to create new opportunities for Indian apparel exporters, it is equally important for the industry to be prepared for evolving EU sustainability and traceability requirements, including the Digital Product Passport framework. AEPC is committed to preparing Indian apparel exporters, particularly MSMEs, to meet these emerging requirements with confidence.” said Dr. A. Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC. “Our collaboration with Green Story on the Digital Product Passport pilot is a significant step towards building future-ready capabilities, strengthening India’s competitiveness and reinforcing our position as a trusted and responsible global sourcing destination.”
“The breakthrough here isn’t just our platform technology – it’s the speed and ease of adoption,” said Akhil Sivanandan, CEO, Green Story. “Moving a manufacturer from zero data infrastructure to a live, EU-ready product passport in a few weeks is a massive shift. Seeing it function in real-time on a busy trade show floor is exactly the frictionless outcome we aimed to achieve with AEPC.”
