§ UK UK guide
DPP QR code labels for UK textile manufacturers.
How to put a Digital Product Passport QR code on a garment. GS1 Digital Link vs static QR, care label vs hangtag vs heat transfer, unit cost, and the printing route UK textile manufacturers actually use.
Every regulated garment will need a scannable data carrier once the textile delegated act takes effect. In practice that is a GS1 Digital Link QR code, printed on the care label or a hangtag. This page covers the physical integration options a UK textile manufacturer can choose between, plus unit cost and supply-chain notes.
The standard is GS1 Digital Link
A GS1 Digital Link is a URL format that embeds a GTIN plus optional batch and serial identifiers into a web-resolvable link. When scanned, the QR code opens the resolved URL, which returns the product passport. This is the front-runner standard for how textile DPPs will be accessed and is the standard GS1 UK is coordinating around. A static (non-GS1) QR code technically works but breaks interoperability with retailer scanners and downstream systems.
Care label integration (durable option)
The QR code is printed directly onto the garment care label at the manufacturing stage. This is the most durable route because the label survives washing, retail handling, and consumer use. Care label printing adds around £0.05 to £0.15 per unit at manufacture. Most textile care label printers now support QR code fields; the code must be at least 12mm square at 300dpi for scanner reliability.
Hangtag QR (cheap retrofit option)
The QR code sits on a paper or card hangtag attached to the garment for retail. Cheaper to implement (£0.02 to £0.10 per unit) and easier to retrofit onto an existing production run. Downside: the hangtag is discarded after purchase, so the DPP is only accessible during the retail journey. Post-purchase scanning (repair, resale, recycle) fails unless the consumer keeps the hangtag.
Heat transfer or woven label QR
For premium garments or workwear where a printed care label is not appropriate, the QR can be delivered via heat transfer applique or a woven label. Heat transfer adds around £0.20 to £0.60 per unit. Woven label QR is more expensive (£0.40 to £1.20 per unit) and requires the QR to be woven at a size that stays scannable (usually 18mm+ square) after fibre movement.
Item-level vs batch-level QR
The GS1 Digital Link standard allows the QR to identify only the GTIN (product type) or the GTIN plus batch (production run) or the GTIN plus serial (individual unit). Item-level serial requires unique codes per garment, which drives up printing cost but enables per-unit traceability for warranty, resale, and take-back schemes. Most SMBs start at GTIN-only and add batch when the delegated act clarifies whether it is required.
NFC as an alternative or supplement
The ESPR text allows Near-Field Communication (NFC) tags as an alternative data carrier. NFC tags cost more per unit (£0.15 to £0.60) but are physically durable and can hold small amounts of data locally as a fallback. Premium brands use both: NFC in the garment for the primary route, QR on the care label as a scanner-compatible fallback. For most UK textile SMBs, QR alone is the cost-effective start.
The printing supply chain
UK care label printers with GS1 Digital Link support are available from major suppliers including Trimco, Avery Dennison, William Sinclair, and Nilorn. Most large label printers now expose an API or file-drop interface that accepts a CSV or JSON of GTINs and issues the care label print run with QR codes embedded. Filovera integrates with the QR generation step so the passport URL is generated automatically from the SKU record.
Frequently asked
- How big does the QR code need to be?
- The minimum reliable scan size for a GS1 Digital Link QR code is 12mm square at 300dpi. Care label printers should hold to that minimum with a quiet zone (blank border) of at least 2mm on all four sides. Smaller codes may work under ideal conditions but fail under real-world lighting on a phone camera. If the care label is small, use a shorter URL to reduce the QR density.
- Do we need item-level serial numbers on every QR?
- Not initially. The final textile delegated act will confirm whether item-level serial is required or whether GTIN-only or GTIN plus batch is sufficient. Most SMBs start at GTIN or GTIN plus batch. Item-level serial is useful for warranty, resale, and take-back schemes because you can identify the specific garment being returned or resold, but it adds cost to the printing run.
- What happens if the QR is damaged?
- QR codes have built-in error correction (up to 30% of the code can be damaged and still scan). The ESPR text is expected to require a redundant data carrier or a documented alternative access method for damaged codes; the final delegated act will set the specifics. In practice, brands often print the GTIN as human-readable text alongside the QR so a consumer can type it into the resolver URL if the code will not scan.
- Can we use the same QR code across the UK and EU?
- Yes. GS1 Digital Link is a global standard maintained by GS1 in every country. A UK-issued GTIN scans and resolves the same way in the EU. The URL the QR resolves to is under your domain so you control what the consumer sees per region (localised care instructions, member-state contact details, EU Authorised Representative disclosure).
- Does Filovera generate the QR codes?
- Yes. Filovera generates the GS1 Digital Link URL and QR code for every SKU in your catalogue automatically. Codes are provided as SVG or PNG at any print size, ready for handoff to your care label printer or hangtag printer. If your label printer has an API, Filovera can push the codes directly.
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