The most common mistake in supplier contracts is that they contain nothing about the textile passport itself. Companies set out price, delivery time and quality requirements, and sometimes also who is responsible for the product safety file, but forget to make a separate agreement about who will supply the data for the digital product passport, in what format, and what happens if the composition of an article changes later.
This is a mistake that only becomes apparent at the moment the passport actually has to be compiled. It then emerges that no one is contractually obliged to supply fibre composition, origin or care instructions in a timely manner and in a usable format, and that there is no agreement on who is liable if that data proves to be incorrect.
Why this goes wrong
Purchase contracts are usually drawn up with a view to the rules that already existed: product safety, labelling, sometimes a code of conduct on working conditions. The textile passport is new, and the obligation ultimately falls on the party that the regulation designates as the economic operator, not automatically on the manufacturer that makes the fabric or the garment. Who that economic operator precisely is and what that entails is set out in the knowledge base with the concepts from the regulation. Because the division of roles is new, it is simply not mentioned in existing contracts.
Added to this is the fact that many contracts are renewed unchanged for years. A supplier agreement drawn up five years ago cannot anticipate an obligation that did not yet exist. Without a deliberate update, that gap simply remains, even with a new order.
What is and is not usually included
A typical contract usually regulates what happens in the event of a defect in the goods themselves: right of return, warranty, liability in the event of incorrect fibre composition on the label. What is usually not included is an obligation to actively and promptly share the underlying data — test reports, certificates of origin, material specifications — with the party that has to compile the passport. There is also often a lack of an agreement on updates: if a supplier switches a yarn supplier and the composition changes slightly, there is rarely a clause that requires this to be reported.
This is problematic because a passport is not created once and then fixed. Data that is no longer correct should be updated as long as the product is on the market. Without a contractual basis, that updating depends on goodwill, not on an enforceable agreement.
What the regulation asks of the supply chain
The regulation itself does not regulate how companies organize their contracts with each other; that is up to the parties themselves. However, the text does distinguish between roles in the supply chain, and supervisory authorities examine during inspections who was supposed to supply and record which information. That distinction is precisely why a contract that does not indicate who supplies which data leads to delays in practice: there is no party that feels contractually bound to respond in time.
Whether a specific supplier falls within the obligation and which data exactly are needed depends on the product and the role that the parties involved play. For your own assessment, the official text on EUR-Lex is the starting point, and for translating that into your own contracts, a lawyer is the appropriate party.
How to prevent this
The first step is to inventory which contracts you have in place with suppliers of fabrics, yarns, accessories and finished goods, and check whether these contracts contain anything about data provision for the passport. Often this is not covered anywhere, and that in itself is not a problem — it only becomes a problem if it remains that way until the moment the passport becomes mandatory.
The second step is to add a concrete clause: who supplies which data, in which format, within which timeframe after a change to the product. This does not need to be a complicated provision, but it should indicate who is responsible if data is missing or proves to be incorrect. With the free quick-scan that provides an indication in a few questions it often becomes clear which suppliers need the most attention.
When this becomes part of existing purchasing terms
Many companies choose not to put this agreement in a separate document, but to add it to the general purchasing terms they already use for every order. This prevents the agreement from having to be renegotiated with each supplier. How data is subsequently processed and remains traceable is explained on the page showing where the information comes from.
Whether a particular form of contract is sufficient for your situation is for a lawyer to assess, or, if there is doubt about the scope of the regulation, for the competent supervisory authority. If you would first like to get an idea of where your company stands, take the free quick-scan or browse through the topics in the knowledge base.