A new joint white paper shows how to integrate real measurements from finishing processes into a garment’s Life Cycle Assessment and structure that information for the DPP, a key step for brands that need to move towards more accurate and verifiable traceability.
The fashion industry can invest in technologies that cut water, energy and chemical use in its factories. But how does that information reach the brand? And how does it become reliable data on a garment’s impact?
EIM by Jeanologia and BCome tackle these questions in The Denim Passport, a new white paper demonstrating how primary data collected during production can be connected to a garment’s Life Cycle Assessment and its Digital Product Passport.
The initiative addresses one of the textile industry’s outstanding challenges: while factories are making progress in measuring and reducing their impacts, much of that information remains siloed within their facilities. Without access to supplier-specific data, brands may be forced to rely on industry averages that don’t necessarily reflect actual manufacturing conditions.
“We need to understand what lies behind the product, connect the different stages and get the whole chain speaking the same language. Measure to understand, compare and improve”, says Begoña García, Director of EIM.
From industry averages to real production data
The white paper presents a case study of a 100% cotton denim garment that connects two complementary levels of information.
EIM by Jeanologia measures the impact of finishing processes directly on the factory floor, including water and energy consumption, chemical use and worker health. BCome integrates this specific data into the garment’s Life Cycle Assessment, also accounting for the impacts of earlier stages in the supply chain.
The case study uses real data to compare a conventional finish, using stone wash and potassium permanganate spray, with Jeanologia’s ATMOS technology. Factory measurements show reductions of 96.3% in water consumption, 20.8% in energy consumption and 38.2% in process-related emissions. Chemical impact also falls by 77%, and the worker health indicator improves by 93%. These improvements are reflected in the EIM Score, which drops from 78 points (high impact) for the conventional process to 17 points (low impact) with ATMOS.
By incorporating this data into the Life Cycle Assessment, the study evaluates the improvements in the context of the whole product. The results show reductions of 1.99% in global warming impact, 1.18% in the water scarcity indicator and 9.88% in marine eutrophication.
Beyond the figures, the exercise illustrates why it matters to connect factory-specific measurements with the rest of the product information. This view helps brands better understand where their impacts come from, assess production alternatives and base their decisions on more representative information.
The Digital Passport starts long before the QR code
The upcoming EU Digital Product Passport requirements for textiles have made collecting, structuring and sharing product information one of the sector’s priorities.
However, having a QR code or a digital product sheet does not, on its own, guarantee the quality of the information behind it. For the DPP to be useful, the data must be linked to the product, structured and backed by reliable sources.
The collaboration between EIM by Jeanologia and BCome shows how to move in that direction. EIM captures and standardizes primary data from finishing processes, while BCome integrates it into the Life Cycle Assessment, following the EU Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) framework, and structures the results for inclusion in the Digital Product Passport.
The model connects information that has traditionally remained separate and carries it from the production floor to the brand’s information systems. Environmental data thus stops being just an operational metric and becomes useful information for traceability, product assessment and readiness for upcoming regulatory requirements.
“The quality of a DPP depends on the quality of the data that feeds it. That’s why collecting primary data from the supply chain is an essential part of the process”, say Alba García and Anna Cañadell, co-founders of BCome.
From transparency to data-backed decisions
The Denim Passport shows that connecting factories and brands is not just a technological matter. It is also a prerequisite for improving the quality of environmental information, substantiating product claims and reducing reliance on generic estimates.
For brands, the challenge now is to connect the data that already exists across their supply chain and turn it into coherent, traceable information ready for different uses, from internal decision-making to product communication and the DPP.
The white paper offers a practical example of how industrial measurement and Life Cycle Assessment can be combined to work towards that goal in one of the fashion industry’s most representative categories: denim.