If a market surveillance authority asks for the digital product passport of a garment and you cannot show it, this usually starts with questions: why is it missing, who is responsible, and is this a one-off mistake or a structural problem. The regulation itself governs the powers of market surveillance authorities and the possible follow-up steps; the exact implementation varies by Member State and for the Netherlands is not yet fixed in detail, because the underlying delegated act is not expected until later.
What can be said with certainty is: a missing or non-functioning passport is not a theoretical risk that only affects large companies. Market surveillance often works through sampling, complaints or customs inspections on import, and this affects a small label just as much as a large chain. It is therefore useful to understand what actually happens in such a situation, without blowing this out of proportion into a reason for panic.
How a check looks in practice
Market surveillance of product information usually proceeds in steps. First, the passport is requested to be shown, for example by scanning the QR code on the label or packaging. If the code does not work, the information is outdated, or the passport is missing altogether, this is usually followed by a request to the responsible party to clarify or remedy the situation. Only if a problem persists or proves to be structural do further steps come into view. What those steps are exactly and within what timeframes is determined by the market surveillance authority designated in the Netherlands for this regulation, and this has not yet been worked out everywhere.
The difference between a one-off mistake and a structural gap
Market surveillance authorities typically distinguish between an incidental error, such as a single item where the link is temporarily not working, and a situation where a company has structurally failed to create passports for an entire collection. This distinction is relevant because it says something about where the focus of market surveillance is directed: not at incidental technical failures, but at whether a company has taken the obligation seriously. This is a description of how market surveillance often works in practice, not a prediction of how a specific authority will rule in a specific case.
Who within your company is contacted
During an inspection, the focus is usually first on the party that according to the regulation is considered the responsible person for the product in question. This is not necessarily the same function or person in every company, especially if you work with multiple suppliers or private label collections. Who within your organisation is this first point of contact is something you can establish in advance rather than discover when a question arrives. The knowledge base with explanations per topic shows how that role distribution is structured in the regulation.
What you can arrange in advance
Most problems that come to light during an inspection are at their core practical problems: a passport that has not been created, a link that is broken, or data that no longer match because a supplier has changed. These are matters that can be prevented by treating the passport as a fixed part of your purchasing process rather than as a final step. If you want a first impression of where your company currently stands, the product scan with a few short questions provides an indication, and the page explains how the data are compiled shows how a passport is built up from the information you or your supplier provide.
When you need to look further yourself
Whether and how a particular situation on your part gives rise to follow-up steps by a supervisory authority cannot be answered in general terms and depends on the concrete circumstances. For an assessment of your own situation, it is advisable to consult the official text or contact a lawyer or the competent supervisory authority itself. Frequently asked practical questions on this subject are compiled on the page overview of frequently asked questions.
Would you like to know where your company currently stands in relation to the obligations regarding the textile product passport? Take the free quick-scan or read through the other topics in the knowledge base, so you are not surprised when an inquiry comes in.