NFC Digital Product Passports: A More Sustainable World Is One Tap Away

A family is facing an all too familiar predicament: Their refrigerator is on the fritz again. Should they call a repair technician, or is it more sensible to simply replace the aging appliance? It’s out of warranty, and they don’t have the fridge’s maintenance records, so it’s a tough call.

Imagine a young woman who purchased her dream designer trench coat ten years ago. Now, it sits collecting dust in her closet. Instead, it could be appraised by a consignment store and rediscovered by a vintage enthusiast who appreciates its history—and its value.

These scenarios highlight a growing challenge. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) , global resource consumption has tripled since 1970 and is set to double again by 2060. Products are often discarded prematurely, and their potential lifespans are cut short due to a lack of accessible information about their origin, value, components and maintenance history. This knowledge could empower more ethical buying decisions and information about repair, reuse and recycling, ultimately extending product lifecycles and minimizing waste.

Digital Product Passports (DPPs) are emerging as transformative tools for product traceability and lifecycle management. These digital records provide comprehensive information about an item, from its creation to end-of-life. The integration of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in DPPs leverages a component already present in billions of devices, which is crucial for achieving sustainability goals. This approach allows manufacturers to embed NFC-enabled "digital fingerprints" into a wide range of products, enabling consumers to access detailed product information with a simple smartphone tap.

Mandating Transparency: Your Next Purchase May Come with a Passport

The European Union is spearheading sustainable product management with initiatives like the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (EU ESPR).   Effective July 2024, the ESPR applies to a broad range of physical goods sold in the EU, mandating compliance with stringent requirements, including the implementation of DPPs. Additionally, the EU Battery Passport regulation, enforceable from February 2027, will require every industrial battery sold in the EU market to have a digital passport providing comprehensive lifecycle information.

Apparel and consumer electronics are being prioritized for DPP regulation. The entire DPP implementation period is expected to conclude by 2030, at which point many products on the EU market, except food, feed and medicinal products, will have DPP requirements in place.

This regulatory push toward transparency and circularity is prompting manufacturers, sales operators and consumers to embrace more sustainable practices across their product lines. Similar regulations are being considered globally.

How NFC Enables Digital Product Passports

The adoption of DPPs necessitates innovative solutions to ensure compliance and reshape global supply and usage chains. NFC tags have already proven themselves in various industries and stand out as a robust and secure solution for implementing DPPs.

NFC technology, co-invented by NXP and Sony in 2002, offers significant advantages over alternatives like QR codes, including:

• Flexible Online and Offline Data Access: NFC tags enable easy access to a product's cloud DPP as well as full/partial DPP storage on a product itself
• Robust Security: NFC tags can come with cryptographic attributes to ensure data integrity and access rights to DPP information
• Unmatched Data Longevity: NFC tags can preserve product information for 10-50 years
• Seamless Tag Integration and Strong Durability: NFC tags can be embedded directly into products for invisible functionality as no line of sight is needed. NFC tags can be built to withstand wear and tear
• Quick Data Updatability: NFC tag data can be locally updated over a product's lifecycle, e.g., accompanying a status change
• Universal Compatibility: NFC tags are accessible from any NFC-enabled device, including nearly every modern smartphone
• Enhanced Privacy: NFC tags offer enhanced privacy features that can prevent the mapping or linking of products to their owners

NFC tags offer readability throughout the product's lifecycle and serve as excellent data carriers for DPPs, either linking data to online platforms or storing partial data locally on the product itself, allowing for offline access to essential information. Each product is equipped with a unique digital identifier that connects to its digital twin. This information can be stored and visualized within a cloud-based platform, with selective access for manufacturers, retailers, consumers, repairers or recyclers based on their access rights.

A New Era in Product Information

Industries seeking better product lifecycle management are at the forefront of adopting NFC-enabled DPPs. The versatility of NFC technology, offering "one tag, multiple use cases," allows for broad applicability across various sectors.

For electronic products, NFC provides quick access to product information and repair guides, helping users locate appropriate spare parts or nearby repair services. White goods and appliances benefit from NFC-enabled DPPs by streamlining maintenance processes. Technicians gain instant access to specifications and repair histories, enhancing efficiency and extending product lifespans. Similarly, automotive companies can leverage NFC-enabled DPPs for battery traceability to ensure regulatory compliance while also helping check a battery's current status to optimize usage or recycling.

In the apparel sector, NFC empowers consumers to understand a product’s origin, materials and environmental impact. This helps them make sustainable purchasing decisions and extend a product’s life through access to care instructions. Likewise, the high-end fashion and luxury goods sector leverages NFC-enabled DPPs to combat counterfeiting and grey markets. Customers can easily verify authenticity and trace an item's journey from production to sale. The luxury industry is exploring circular economy initiatives, including restoration services, charitable donations of pre-owned items, and second-life resale programs. In the furniture industry, DPPs can validate sustainable manufacturing practices, showcase the use of eco-friendly or reclaimed materials, and provide care instructions and access to quality repair services.

As NFC technology advances and regulations evolve, we anticipate even more innovative applications of DPPs across diverse industries.

Achieving Scale with NFC-Enabled Digital Product Passports

Consumer education is essential to this evolution, as users must understand how to interact with NFC-enabled products. It is also important to balance robust security with cost-effectiveness across various product categories. Companies like NXP address this by offering tiered security options, from basic measures for everyday goods to advanced cryptographic data protection and access rights for high-value items facing supply and usage vulnerabilities.

In situations where offline data access is essential, NFC tags offer a reliable solution by storing critical information locally while also allowing for the retrieval of additional data from the cloud. This hybrid approach supports offline data updates and enables real-time features, such as opening detection, which allows products to register when they've been opened or tampered with, providing crucial information about product integrity and usage throughout its lifecycle.

To address different requirements, NXP provides flexible NFC-enabled DPP solutions. Manufacturers can tailor implementations to specific product needs and market demands. NXP is actively involved in industry collaboration, such as the NFC Forum, and is working on NFC DPP specifications in compliance with the EU ESPR and CEN-CLC/JTC 24  a DPP data standardization efforts. This alignment with key standardization bodies solidifies NFC's role in the future of DPPs, ensuring interoperability and widespread adoption across industries.

Beyond Traceability: DPPs Driving a Sustainable Future

NFC technology and DPPs are just getting started. Both will become even more powerful through enhanced integration with IoT ecosystems that will provide seamless data exchange and real-time product monitoring. Advanced data analytics processed from DPPs will unlock deeper insights into product usage and help manufacturers further optimize design, production and recycling processes for improved lifecycle management whilst unlocking growth from new business models.

As we move toward a future where every product has a digital identity, NFC will be pivotal in driving trust and transparency in the circular economy. With continued innovation and collaboration, NFC-enabled DPPs can revolutionize how we interact with products and foster a more sustainable world — all with a single tap. Explore NXP's NFC offerings and discover how you can be a part of this revolution here.

Authors

Sylvia Kaiser-Kershaw

Sylvia Kaiser-Kershaw is a Global Senior Principal Marketing Manager in the Connectivity & Security business line at NXP Semiconductors. She is in charge of product marketing for NFC & RFID technologies as well as Healthcare & Retail market segment development. As part of her role, she helps develop smart connected solutions for brand product protection, supply chain transparency, process optimization and interactive user experiences. Sylvia has over 20 years of experience in strategic and operational marketing, with a strong background in digitization, working across a variety of vertical industries. She is based in Austria.

Zanghee Cho

Zanghee Cho is a senior product manager in the Connectivity & Security business line at NXP semiconductors, based in Austria. He is responsible for managing NFC and secure authentication products. He has over 25 years of experience in security, engineering, and product management. Also he is a chair of IoT group at NFC Forum.