“Many products in the EU will require DPPs by 2028. This is the time to develop these technologies, and early adopters will be best equipped to exploit DPPs as a competitive advantage,” Romain Carrere, CEO of Aura Blockchain Consortium
In a data-driven and consumer-driven marketplace, luxury brands must innovate to thrive. Industry pioneer MCM is leading the way with the launch of its Digital Product Passport (DPP), developed in collaboration with the Aura Blockchain Consortium. This revolutionary technology is set to redefine industry standards.
The DPP, which perfectly coincides with the implementation of the EU Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), offers a comprehensive solution to the sector’s traceability and authenticity challenges. By offering consumers unmatched transparency, early adopters like MCM not only meet regulatory requirements but also build a strong competitive advantage.
This article explores the mechanics of DPP and how it can be a catalyst for growth and innovation in the luxury sector. Through insights from Romain Carrere, CEO of Aura Blockchain Consortium, FashionUnited examines the potential of this technology not only as a compliance tool, but also as a strategic asset capable of reshaping the luxury landscape.
What is the value proposition of the Digital Product Passport (DPP)? How can blockchain technology contribute to the development of sustainable practices?
Romain Carrere: At Aura, we believe that blockchain-powered DPPs are essential to drive sustainability. By enhancing traceability, storytelling, and customer experience, we foster a holistic relationship between the consumer and the product throughout its lifecycle. The immutability and transparency of blockchain ensures the highest level of data integrity, which we see as an advantage over traditional cloud-based solutions. DPPs enable brands to build trust by certifying authenticity and traceability, while empowering consumers to make informed choices based on comprehensive information about the product lifecycle.
What is the strategic imperative for developing this technology today? How does it meet the urgent needs of today’s market?
Romain Carrere: The Sustainable Ecodesign for Products Regulation (ESPR), which came into force on 18 July 2024, makes transparency and traceability a regulatory requirement for any luxury brand selling on the European market. This means that many products in the EU will require PPDs by 2028. The time to develop these technologies is now: early adopters will be best equipped to exploit PPDs as a competitive advantage rather than simply meeting a regulatory requirement. Beyond compliance, PPDs also ensure product authenticity and lifecycle traceability. In turn, this provides benefits and rewards, fosters community and customer engagement, and enriches brand and product storytelling.
It is said that your technology will help customers verify the durability of the product. How? What specific information will they be able to access?
Romain Carrere: Today’s consumers are more informed than previous generations. They are more sustainability conscious, which means they have particularly high expectations for the availability and accessibility of transparent information about every step of the supply chain, from the provenance of raw materials to the production process and beyond. When this information is available in a transparent and easily accessible way, it allows consumers to assess the sustainability of a specific product, highlights a brand’s commitment to sustainability, builds trust between the brand and the customer, and ultimately guides purchasing decisions. Meeting customers’ evolving expectations is essential.
How will the DPP ultimately influence consumer decision-making?
Romain Carrere: With sustainability becoming a defining factor for consumers, it is crucial that brands meet these evolving expectations. DPPs make this possible and, in addition to providing consumers with the information they need to make ethical purchases, the depth of information provides new opportunities for product storytelling and customer engagement.
Can you provide specific examples of how Aura blockchain technology improves customer experience through DPP?
Romain Carrere: To take the MCM example again, by simply scanning an NFC chip, consumers can verify the authenticity and sustainability of the product on the Aura blockchain. They then have full access to the product details, including full lifecycle information immediately available at their fingertips, such as recycled marine plastics, fishing nets used, etc.
Miu Miu’s Upcycled 2024 collection is another example. Dedicated to denim bags and patch bags, it uses pre-2000 materials sourced from denim specialists around the world and puts into practice the idea of giving new life to vintage clothing, bags and accessories. To offer an enriched customer experience and add value to the product at the same time, Miu Miu has partnered with Aura to allow access, by scanning the NFC tag, to specific information, exclusive content and the certificate of authenticity recorded on the Aura blockchain.
How do you see the evolution of this technology? What are the ambitions of the Aura Blockchain Consortium in this area?
Romain Carrere: The adoption of DPPs in the luxury industry will only accelerate in the coming years, and we are excited to see the range of applications for this technology expand accordingly. Aura’s standard framework for luxury DPPs is designed to enable brands to seamlessly adapt the incredibly diverse utility of DPPs to their unique objectives and strategies.
Widespread implementation is still in its early stages, but many forward-thinking brands are using learnings from their current applications to plan for increasingly innovative future uses, and we have registered tens of millions of luxury products on our private blockchain.
Traceability and transparent tracking will also grow as more data is captured and recorded throughout the supply chain, enabling richer brand stories and bringing new depth and trust to the customer-brand relationship. Brands will also be able to create more options for customers through DPPs. By tokenizing real-world assets and providing customers with a unique digital identifier that provides higher levels of security regarding product authenticity, brands can unlock new values in the second-hand market, customer relationship management, and future Web3 utilities.
The possibilities are endless, but to fully exploit the potential of this technology beyond regulatory compliance, brands need to make DPP a priority today. This is an exciting time for the industry, and brands that start building their DPP strategy now will be best positioned to reap the benefits of this technology in the future.
