“A Label with a Lot to Say” – How SML helps bring Digital Product Passports to life
Sometimes, the smallest tag in a garment holds the biggest story. Or in this case: all the essential data. With over 40 years of experience connecting products to digital identities, RFID expert SML joins SwePass as a key enabler of traceability, ready to help shape the future of transparent and sustainable textiles.
– At SML, we see ourselves as a supportive partner in SwePass, bringing expertise in RFID, digital identification and traceability technologies, says Nanna Ingemann Dalsgaard, Vice President Sustainability, Digital IDs & Marketing at SML Group.
Their technology already powers item-level tracking for billions of products worldwide. In SwePass, SML is stepping in to help adapt that capability to a new challenge: enabling Digital Product Passports (DPPs) that follow a product from manufacturing all the way to recycling.
In practice, it means embedding a small RFID tag and a QR code to the garment – which can carry information about its origin, material composition, care instructions, environmental impact and more. It may sound simple, but the challenges are real.
– Ensuring that the DPP remains accessible throughout a product’s lifecycle isn’t trivial. Data integrity, durability, and usability even as the product changes hands will all need to be carefully managed, says Nanna Ingemann Dalsgaard.
On top of that, affordability is key. But because RFID and QR codes enables fast and automated scanning, it has strong potential to support second-hand systems, recycling, and smarter, sustainable design.
SML plans to stay closely involved in the collaborative processes within SwePass, including workshops, expert dialogues, and continuous feedback loops led by RISE.
– Each partner in SwePass brings essential knowledge. It’s the combination of perspectives – from technical to practical – that will allow us to build something that works across the entire value chain, says Maria Jemth, Global Director of Sales & Business development at SML Scandinavia.
In the short term, SML aims to demonstrate how their RFID and digital ID solutions can meet DPP requirements and integrate smoothly into the SwePass framework. Long-term, their ambition is broader: to remain a trusted provider of end-to-end traceability solutions that support a circular economy.
So, the next time you glance at a care label, remember: it might not just say “30°C and no tumble drying.” It might carry an entire lifecycle story – made possible by a tiny chip, a QR code, and a powerful collaboration.
