What Is the Shelf-life of Digital Product Passports, Really? (1/2)

The deeper we dig into the everyday details of Digital Product Passports (DPP) the more we run into practical questions we lack answers to.

Earlier, we've wondered how to handle "a glitch in the Matrix", how to handle commodities from multiple suppliers, what about small and artisanal producers and designing for trust, including how to be confident that the DPP data actually applies to the item in front of you (as there's a risk of 5% on average that it might be counterfeit)

What about DPP access post-purchase?

This time we wonder about continued access to DPP beyond the actual purchase of the item. Obviously, the main purpose of DPP's is to help consumers make environmentally sound purchasing decisions, but there's more to it.

DPP is all about circularity, about extending the life of products through repair, reuse and recirculation. How about the circularity of the DPP? The "DPP shelf life"?

So far, all focus seems to be on supplying DPP's at the time of purchase of new products. But beyond that?

If the QR code is on the packaging of the new product, how will you find your way back to the information later on, when the package is gone? When you need to repair, to recycle or to resell the item?

We don't have any answers to deliver on this, just questions and reflections.

Why access DPP's post purchase?

Inherent in the DPP specifications is information you may well want to access long after you've made the purchase. Let's start with the obvious ones.

Repairability

Information about repairability may primarily be something you primarily consider at time of purchase, but may well be forgotten when it is actually needed. HOW to repair items, though, is only relevant long after purchase - hopefully.

Disposal and recycling

DPP's are also supposed to provide information on how to responsibly dispose of products at their end of life. Can they be recycled? All parts in the same way? How should they be sorted, in which bin? Compare with how packaging comes with sorting instructions in many markets.

But there are more reasons to want to access DPP's later in their life.

Reuse - Resell

Circularity may well mean reselling items or donating them. Subsequent owners may be interested in the DPP data when they buy second hand and during their ownership.

Evolving data?

What if methods for reparation, recycling or disposal evolve during the life of an item? Maybe new methods make it possible to recycle an item that could not be recycled at time of purchase?

Other kinds of life-time information

In other blog posts, we have highlighted that the QR code and the DPP infrastructure could well be used to convey information beyond what is required by the DPP regulation. Manuals and maintenance instructions is an obvious candidate. Who doesn't have a stash of manuals for devices somewhere at home? Wouldn't it be lovely to be able to be able to access them all online instead? And do away with that pile of paper that is just wasting space – until you need it. But then you need a way to access it.

Next week: How To Access DPP Data Post Purchase?

In next week's blog post we will look closer at just how we will maintain access to DPP's throughout the entire lifetime of an item. Storing packages in a closet just in case we need to access the QR codes doesn't look like a sensible option, really.

What do you think?

I wonder....how am I supposed to find the information on how to recycle in ten years when it's actually time to do so?

Image by fotosipsak on iStock