8 August, 2025
"MATTRESS X - CAN I SEE YOUR PASSPORT"
Imagine walking into a store, pointing at a mattress and asking: “Can I see its passport?”. Not a travel document, of course, but a Digital Product Passport (DPP) — a new tool that will soon transform the way we buy, use, and dispose of products, including mattresses.
The European Union is preparing to roll out a Digital Product Passport (DPP) — one of the flagship measures of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), adopted in July 2024. For the mattress industry, this development will reshape the way products are designed, marketed, and managed at end-of-life.
What is the Digital Product Passport?
The Digital Product Passport is an initiative under the European Union’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), adopted in July 2024.
The DPP is a digital record linked to a product (usually via QR code, data carrier, or RFID), containing structured, standardised information relevant to its composition, environmental performance, repairability, and recyclability. The goal is to make sustainability data available across the value chain, from raw material suppliers to recyclers, while ensuring that consumers, authorities, and market surveillance bodies can also access reliable information.
For mattresses, the DPP will (likely) provide transparent details such as:
Bill of materials: detailed information on textiles, foams, springs, adhesives, and other components.
Substance information: compliance with REACH restrictions and other chemical safety requirements.
Sustainability credentials: e.g. recycled content, carbon footprint, durability testing.
End-of-life guidance: dismantling instructions, recyclability potential, and waste treatment options.
Circularity data: repair, refurbishment, or second-life pathways.
Why Mattresses Are in Focus
Mattresses are a priority under the EU’s circular economy agenda because of their bulky waste character and the difficulties recyclers face in separating materials. In the EU alone, around 30 million mattresses are discarded each year, many still landfilled or incinerated despite growing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes.
A Digital Product Passport will:
Enable better sorting and recycling by providing dismantling instructions and material data.
Support EPR schemes by streamlining data transfer between producers and waste operators.
Help enforce sustainability claims, limiting greenwashing and strengthening consumer trust.
Timelines and Policy Context
July 2024 – ESPR formally adopted; framework for DPP established.
2025–2026 – Secondary legislation (delegated acts) will define product-specific requirements, including which product groups (e.g. textiles, batteries, construction materials, and potentially furniture and mattresses) will need a DPP.
2027–2028 – First DPPs expected to become mandatory in priority sectors. Mattresses are anticipated to follow shortly thereafter, aligned with EPR implementation across Member States.
By 2030 – Full integration of DPPs in most regulated product categories under ESPR, with mattresses likely included given their waste relevance and alignment with the EU’s Textiles Strategy and Sustainable Products Initiative.
What Industry Needs to Prepare
Data readiness: producers will need robust systems to collect and share information from suppliers.
Standardisation: alignment with European Commission and CEN/CENELEC standards for data format and interoperability.
Collaboration: closer cooperation with recyclers to ensure data meets practical end-of-life needs.
Compliance and competitiveness: companies that adapt early will not only meet regulatory requirements but can also use DPPs as a market differentiator, demonstrating transparency and sustainability.
Takeaways
The DPP is more than a compliance tool: it is a driver of systemic change. For the mattress sector, it promises to bridge the information gap between producers, consumers, and recyclers, paving the way toward a truly circular value chain.
When the question “Mattress X, can I see your Digital Product Passport?” becomes reality, it will mark a turning point in how our industry approaches transparency, sustainability, and innovation.
References
European Commission (2024): Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR)
European Parliament and Council: Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 of 27 June 2024 on ecodesign for sustainable products
European Commission: Proposal for a Regulation on Ecodesign for Sustainable Products (COM/2022/142 final)
European Environment Agency (EEA) (2019): Waste prevention in Europe – mattresses and bulky waste
European Commission: EU Circular Economy Action Plan (2020)