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South Asian apparel giants gear up for EU's DPP test

The global apparel trade is gearing up for one of its most dramatic shake-ups in decades, driven not by a new manufacturing trend or a change in consumer mood, but by a digital tag the size of a fingernail. The European Union’s upcoming Digital Product Passport for garments is quietly rewriting the rules that determine who gets to sell into Europe’s fashion market — and who gets shut out.

For South Asia’s apparel titans, Bangladesh and India, the implications are nothing short of transformative. With more than half of Bangladesh’s apparel exports headed to the EU, and India counting Europe among its most critical buyers, the DPP is rapidly becoming the line between opportunity and obsolescence.