Our First Digital Product Passport for Reusable Shoe Covers

September 29, 2026

In September, reCovers reached an exciting milestone: our first Digital Product Passport prototype for reusable shoe covers was presented at the Textile Fashion Center in Borås.

The prototype was developed through the Data to Business programme, where we explored how product data can strengthen transparency, build trust and support more circular business models.

For reCovers, this means showing what lies behind our reusable alternative to disposable plastic shoe covers, from materials and local production to care, repair and future circular possibilities.

What Is a Digital Product Passport?

A Digital Product Passport, often called a DPP, brings important product information together in one digital place. It can make information about a product’s materials, origin, care, repair and environmental impact easier to access throughout its life.

Our first prototype can be reached through a QR code or viewed directly on our website. It is designed to be straightforward and useful, without overwhelming people with technical information.

Building the reCovers Digital Product Passport

Our DPP prototype currently includes information about:

The leftover technical textile used to make the shoe covers
Where the product is designed and produced
Product weight and estimated lifetime
Washing and care instructions
Repair options and our repair kit for small holes
Our initial environmental impact assessment
Rental, return and future take-back possibilities

It also explains where the information comes from and where further data is still needed. This is important because the prototype is an ongoing project, not a finished or certified Digital Product Passport.

Explore the reCovers Digital Product Passport here

One of our strongest takeaways from the Data to Business programme was the importance of trust.

Customers increasingly want to understand what lies behind environmental and circularity claims. A Digital Product Passport gives us a place to share the available information openly and explain the assumptions behind it.

For us, transparency does not mean pretending to have every answer. It means supporting our claims with data, clearly identifying gaps and improving the information as we learn more.

We believe this can help customers make more informed choices while creating greater respect for the materials, work and resources behind each product.

Supporting a More Circular Business Model

The programme also encouraged us to look beyond transparency and ask how product data could create real business value.

Could a future product passport support rental customers with care instructions? Could it record repairs and help us keep shoe covers in use for longer? Could it connect a returned product to its history and help us determine whether it should be repaired, reused or repurposed?

These possibilities could support longer customer relationships and services such as rental, repair and take-back. Instead of viewing the DPP only as a future requirement, we are exploring how it could become a practical part of our circular business model.

From Disposable Shoe Covers to Reuse

reCovers are designed to replace single-use plastic shoe covers with a washable and repairable alternative.

Each pair is intended for approximately 500 uses, depending on how it is handled, washed and maintained. Our initial environmental assessment indicates that using a pair for its full lifetime can reduce both disposable waste and greenhouse-gas emissions compared with equivalent use of disposable shoe covers.