A Visible Head Start: How ROFA Is Pioneering the Digital Product Passport (DPP) – Live at A+A

A+A 2025 in Düsseldorf made one thing unmistakably clear:

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is gaining momentum in the textile sector especially in workwear and protective clothing. Not as an abstract part of the Ecodesign Regulation, but as a practical tool for product transparency, lifecycle management and everyday data workflows.

The Reality Check: A fully functional DPP for workwear

ROFA Bekleidungswerk GmbH & Co. KG presented the Digital Product Passport for its MULTI-LIGHT HI-VIS II model, not as a mock-up, but as a working application that visitors could hold in their hands.

What unfolded was remarkably calm and surprisingly powerful:

• Information accessible exactly where it’s needed

• Transparent documentation — automatically updated

• Easier compliance reporting thanks to structured data

• Faster aftermarket processes due to clearer, more accessible information

  
  

It was a moment that showed what happens when a regulatory idea becomes a usable tool.

ROFA realized at the fair how innovative this step really is. A working DPP you can actually try out — that sparked a lot of curiosity among companies.

Emil Welischanksi, Narravero

“DPP – Burden or Benefit?” Insights from the German Fashion Panel

What ROFA demonstrated hands-on was echoed in the German Fashion panel discussion, featuring:

• Simona Rutenfranz (GermanFashion)

• Cornelia Jäger (ROFA)

• Julia Eckert (Würth Modyf)

• Jens Herzog (Narravero)

  
  

It took only minutes for a shared understanding to emerge: The debate is no longer about if  but how.

Structured data is essential. And you should start, not wait. Unclear definitions can even be an advantage: companies can shape the DPP in a way that fits their processes. But only if departments work together.

Jens Herzog, Narravero

The DPP is a work in progress. Perfect templates will never exist. You understand it best when you use it.

Cornelia Jäger, ROFA

Both perspectives meet at the same point: The DPP does not emerge from a finished document, it emerges from doing, learning, and developing together.

Looking ahead: What the ROFA use case sets in motion

Across conversations and demos, one message became clear: The DPP is increasingly seen as an opportunity — for transparency, service, and reliable product information throughout the lifecycle.

The ROFA use case shows that this opportunity is not theoretical but tangible.

Four observations stood out:

1. The willingness is there. Companies want to start; what they need is orientation.

2. The DPP is becoming more pragmatic. Less theory, more application.

3. Real examples work best. A functioning prototype builds understanding that no concept paper can replace.

4. Workwear is a natural starting point. High safety requirements meet high information needs — an ideal combination.

So what now?

The use cases at A+A show how Digital Product Passports can reshape the everyday realities of manufacturers, retailers and users.

Perhaps the most important insight from A+A 2025 is this: The DPP is coming but how we use it will determine the value it creates.

And one day, looking back, we may say: Those first steps made all the difference.