do I need a product passport for showroom samples that are not sold

Showroom samples that are not sold fall outside the obligation

A product passport is linked to a product placed on the market, and a showroom sample that is never sold falls outside that in most cases. The ESPR sets out the requirements for products made available on the Union market or put into service, and a sample intended solely to be shown to buyers, agents or the press — and that is destroyed, recalled or used internally after the season — is not sold and thus does not come into that situation. As soon as the same article does appear in the assortment and is delivered to a shop, webshop or end customer, that is a different matter: then it is about the sold product, and that product needs the passport, regardless of how many copies of the pattern or design have circulated earlier as a sample.

For whom this applies and where the boundary lies

This reasoning applies to clothing brands, importers and private label parties that work with showroom samples, salesman samples or look-samples that serve exclusively an internal or commercial purpose: presenting, fitting, taking photos, taking orders. It does not apply to items that at any point acquire the status of "sold product" — a showroom sample that is sold at a discount to staff or via an outlet after the season has, at that moment, become a sold product, and the question of whether a passport must accompany it is then answered by the same rules that apply to the rest of the collection. A sample that is used to show a customer what they will exactly receive — for instance with a made-to-order — also comes close to a borderline case, and then deserves a look at the source itself rather than at this general line. For the underlying scope — which clothing and which textile products will eventually fall under the obligation — the broader explanation is to be found on which clothing and textile products fall under the ESPR, and for your own situation the check on whether the digital product passport applies to their own clothing and textiles is a logical next step.

No fixed date yet, and until then nothing changes for samples

No delegated act has been published that makes the product passport for clothing mandatory, and therefore there is also no moment at which the question about samples becomes a practical matter. What is certain: the European Commission is working on a delegated act that is expected to be published in 2027, with clothing that consists eighty per cent or more of textile fibres as the first category. That act must still be adopted and will contain the concrete requirements — also any special provisions for situations such as samples, if any arise. Until that publication there is no obligation for clothing or textiles, and therefore neither for samples, sold products or anything in between. As soon as more is known about the precise date, that is described on when the product passport becomes mandatory for clothing and textiles, and the way such a delegated act works and why it is only the starting point is explained on what a delegated act is and why it determines what must be done.

How to handle this in practice

For those already working with samples, the first step is to maintain the distinction between what is purely showroom or sales material and what ultimately leaves the premises as a sold product — that distinction will also be central to the question of whether a passport is required. The second step is to check whether a sample ever attains the status of a sold product, for instance through staff sales, outlet or a showroom clearance sale at the end of the season; from that moment on it counts as a product placed on the market. The third step is to keep basic data on material composition and origin, even for samples — not because that is currently mandatory, but because that data will be needed later for the passport of the sold product, and it is easier to record them from the start than to reconstruct them afterwards. The fourth step is to assess your own situation once the delegated act is available: a brand that works with many prototypes and test collections would do well to then check whether the text itself contains an exception for non-sold items, rather than relying on a general assumption.

The basis: Article 1 and Article 9 of the ESPR

This line follows from Article 1 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781), which links the scope of the regulation to products made available on the market or put into service, and from Article 9 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781), which describes the digital product passport as part of the information that must accompany a product when that product falls within the requirements. A sample that is not sold does not go through that stage, and therefore falls outside the core of what these articles regulate. The precise implementation — with any special cases for samples, test collections or prototypes — is still to come in the delegated act for clothing and textiles, and until that text is available, this remains a description of the main rule and not of an implemented exception.

Those who want to prepare now can best start by separating sample records from sales records, and follow developments around the delegated act once it is published — the official text will then show whether samples are mentioned separately.

What this is based on

The regulation itself is available on EUR-Lex. We provide references for each statement; you do not need to take our word for it.

What you must do concretely

What is expected of you

The ESPR ties the obligation for a digital product passport to the placing of a product on the market. Article 1 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) describes the scope of the regulation in those terms, and Article 9 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) elaborates on what must be included in that passport once a product category falls within a delegated act. For showroom samples that are not sold, that starting point — the placing on the market — is a central point to think about. A sample that serves solely to show buyers what a collection looks like, and that never reaches a consumer as a saleable product, sits differently in the sales trajectory than an item offered via a webshop or store.

Determining whether the sample counts as "placed on the market"

This is the first question that needs to be answered in practice, and not one that the platform fills in for an individual company. A sample that circulates between showrooms, agents and buyers, and that is never sold, is different from a sample that is later cleared through an outlet or sold to staff at the end of the season. The latter is indeed a sale, and thus potentially a moment at which the question 'is a passport needed here' must be asked again. For a company of 10 to 100 employees, this means above all that it must be clear internally what happens to samples after the showroom season — not only in design or sales, but also in logistics and outlet sales, where these types of items can naturally end up.

Knowing whether the product category falls under a delegated act at all

Apart from the question of whether something is a sample, the broader question applies of whether the product category in which the company operates already falls under a delegated act. As long as that act does not exist, there is no passport requirement for anyone in that product category — sample or no sample. What a delegated act precisely is and why it determines what a company must do is explained on what is a delegated act and why does it determine what I must do?. For clothing and textiles, no delegated act has yet been published; when that obligation becomes concrete can be followed via when does the product passport become mandatory for clothing and textiles?.

Making a distinction between prototypes, samples and retail-ready items

In practice, these categories often blur into one another: a prototype that is being modified, a showroom sample that is sold after the season as a sample sale or to staff, and a production piece that goes directly to a customer. For a company with its own showroom or agent network, it is practical to keep these flows separate from one another — not because the platform makes a judgment about this, but because this distinction determines which pieces will ever need a passport and which will not.

Where things go wrong in practice

A first situation where things go wrong: a showroom sample is sold after the season via a sample sale or to employees, without anyone having linked that moment to the question of whether a passport is needed. The sample then actually changes status, but this is not noted organisationally.

A second situation: a collection consists of pieces that partly circulate as samples and partly go into production, with the same article code. If the passport is later linked to production, confusion arises about which specimen receives which passport, especially when samples differ slightly from the final production pieces in terms of material or finish.

A third situation: an agent or distributor in another EU country receives samples and assumes, without consultation, that those samples will later also need a passport, while the company itself plans never to sell those pieces. Unclear agreements between brand and agent about what happens to samples then lead to unnecessary uncertainty or unnecessary work.

A fourth situation: companies that wonder whether their product category falls under the legislation at all, and leave that question unanswered until the moment the delegated act arrives — with the result that there is no longer time to distinguish between sample flows and sales flows. Anyone wondering whether the product passport applies at all to their own clothing and textiles can check that via does the digital product passport apply to my clothing and textiles?.

A fifth situation, specific to smaller companies: the assumption that a small company is not visible enough anyway to handle this carefully. Whether and how company size plays a role in this is described on does the product passport also apply to small companies?.

What you can record

An overview of which pieces in a collection are used as showroom samples, and which of these are sold or could be sold after the season.
An internal agreement on the moment when a sample changes status — from showroom item to retail product — and who is responsible for this.
Agreements with agents and distributors about what happens to samples after use, including any further sale.
A file per collection in which article codes, material composition and any differences between sample and production piece are documented — useful apart from the product passport, and once a delegated act does exist, immediately usable as a basis.
A check of whether the product category in which the company operates coincides with what falls under the ESPR; an initial orientation on this is available on which products in the clothing and textile sector fall under the ESPR?.

If you have these matters in order now, you won't have to search for them later when the obligation for clothing and textiles becomes concrete.

This is not legal advice. This page provides general information about the regulations that this platform covers. We are not familiar with your situation. If you are in doubt about your own case, consult a lawyer or the competent supervisory authority.

Written with AI based on the sources above, checked by a human on 2026-09-05. Is something not right? Let us know — corrections are given priority.