My supplier does not provide the data — what can I do?

What you must do concretely

What is expected of you

The obligation lies with the manufacturer, not with the data supplier

Article 27 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) places responsibility for the product passport with the manufacturer. For a clothing brand or importer that places products on the market under its own name, this means: the duty to supply the data completely and correctly lies with the company itself, even if the actual information — fibre composition, country of make-up, chemical treatment — must come from a supplier. A company with 10 to 100 employees typically has no in-house production and is therefore dependent on third parties for almost all content. That dependence does not change where the obligation lies. Whoever brings the passport to market bears responsibility for its accuracy.

Actors in the chain have their own supply obligation

Article 38 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) describes requirements for actors in the supply chain: parties that have information needed for the passport are obliged to share it with the party assembling the passport. This is relevant for a brand to know, because it means that a supplier who refuses or delays does not escape — there is also an obligation on that side. In practical terms, this changes little about the brand's position in the short term: the passport must be produced, and the brand is the one it will be held accountable for. But it does provide a basis to refer to in the company's own contracts and communications.

Asking questions and recording is part of due diligence

What a company can practically do is ask early and specifically which data are needed, and record that in writing. What data must I request from my supplier of clothing and textiles? describes where that question is concretely about. For an organisation of this size, this is often a matter of one buyer or sustainability coordinator who works with a fixed list per supplier, rather than ad hoc email correspondence. Without that record, it is difficult afterwards to demonstrate what was asked and when.

Where things go wrong in practice

The supplier does not respond, and there is no contractual leverage. Many purchasing contracts with suppliers outside the EU were drawn up before the product passport became an issue and contain no provision for data delivery. Without such a provision, there is little ground to wait for something for which no agreement exists.

The data arrives, but too late for your own planning. A brand that wants to bring a collection to market discovers that the fibre composition or certificate is only available after production — while the passport must already be in place at the time of sale.

The product is made at multiple manufacturers and no one feels responsible for the whole. For a garment where the fabric, dye and make-up are with different parties, each party can refer to the next. my garment is manufactured by multiple manufacturers, who supplies which data addresses how that distribution works in practice, and why the brand itself must take control.

The supplier provides a certificate, but that certificate does not cover what is needed. A GOTS or OEKO-TEX certificate is submitted as "evidence", while it is unclear whether that certificate covers the correct period, batch or claim. can I use my GOTS or OEKO-TEX certificate as evidence in the product passport describes where that tension lies.

The brand adopts the supplied data without verifying it, and later discovers that it is incorrect. That risk is greater when importing from outside the EU, where there is less direct visibility into production conditions. What does the product passport mean if I import clothing and textiles from outside the EU? describes that situation specifically.

What you can record

• A written request per supplier, specifying exactly which data are needed and for which product or which collection. This is the basis for later demonstrating that a timely and concrete request was made.
• A contractual provision on data supply, included in the purchase contract or as an addition to it. How do I record the supply of passport data in my purchasing contract? describes what such a provision can consist of, including deadlines and consequences of non-delivery.
• A record of correspondence: when was what requested, what was the response, and what follow-up steps were taken. This is particularly relevant when a supplier consistently delivers late or incompletely.
• A fixed procedure for checking supplied data, so that what is received is not automatically accepted as correct. How do I verify whether my supplier's data is correct? describes how that check can look in practice.
• Agreements on audits or inspections at the supplier, for situations where data is repeatedly incomplete or unreliable. must I have my supplier abroad inspected for the product passport goes into when that is a reasonable step.
• An overview of which manufacturer supplies which part of the product, when production is divided among multiple parties, so that if one party fails, it is clear which data is missing and from whom that data should come.

This documentation does not change the fact that the brand itself remains responsible for the passport. What it does do is build a substantiation of its own efforts, for the moment when a supplier still does not deliver.