SmartLinks Guides
Practical guides on Digital Product Passports, ESPR compliance, GS1 standards, authentication, and circular-economy strategy — for brands preparing for the connected packaging era.
Editor’s picks
Featured guides
EU Digital Product Passport: The Complete Overview
What the EU Digital Product Passport is, which products it covers, the ESPR timeline, and how connected packaging delivers compliance.
GS1 Standards for Digital Product Passports
How GS1 Digital Link, GTINs, and EPCIS underpin compliant, interoperable Digital Product Passports.
EU Battery Passport: Everything You Need to Know
The EU Battery Regulation, February 2027 deadlines, mandatory data fields, and how to deliver compliant battery passports.
DPPs for Fashion & Apparel
Textiles in the first ESPR wave: data gaps, resale, anti-counterfeit, and where fashion brands should start.
DPP Compliance Checklist: A Practical Roadmap
A six-workstream checklist for moving from zero to DPP-ready, ahead of your category's delegated act.
ESPR Explained: The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation
The umbrella regulation behind the EU Digital Product Passport: scope, timeline, obligations, and how brands should prepare for ESPR.
8 guides
Industry Guides
How DPPs Power the Circular Economy
Resale, repair, refurbishment, recycling — the four circular workflows DPPs unlock at scale.
DPPs for Electronics & E-Waste
WEEE, ESPR, critical raw materials, and Right to Repair — what electronics brands need to know.
Product Passports for Cosmetics & Beauty
Ingredient transparency, ethical sourcing, refills, and authentication for beauty brands.
DPPs for Fashion & Apparel
Textiles in the first ESPR wave: data gaps, resale, anti-counterfeit, and where fashion brands should start.
DPPs for Furniture & Home Goods
Wood provenance, EUDR, repairability, and circular models for the furniture industry.
The Resale Revolution and Brand-Led Circularity
Why brand-led resale is the largest commercial opportunity in connected packaging.
Luxury Goods Authentication with Cryptographic NFC
How luxury houses deploy cryptographic NFC to defeat counterfeits and elevate brand storytelling.
Wine & Spirits Authentication and Provenance
Tamper-evident NFC, producer storytelling, and channel integrity for wine and spirits brands.
8 guides
Regulation & Compliance
EU Digital Product Passport: The Complete Overview
What the EU Digital Product Passport is, which products it covers, the ESPR timeline, and how connected packaging delivers compliance.
EU Battery Passport: Everything You Need to Know
The EU Battery Regulation, February 2027 deadlines, mandatory data fields, and how to deliver compliant battery passports.
ESPR Explained: The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation
The umbrella regulation behind the EU Digital Product Passport: scope, timeline, obligations, and how brands should prepare for ESPR.
ESPR Delegated Acts & Category Timeline
The rolling schedule of ESPR delegated acts by product category — textiles, furniture, steel, tyres, chemicals — and how to track updates.
Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR)
PPWR recyclability grades, recycled-content thresholds, reuse targets, QR labelling and how PPWR intersects with the ESPR Digital Product Passport.
EU Green Claims Directive
How the EU Green Claims Directive and Empowering Consumers Directive end unsubstantiated environmental claims — and what brands must do to comply.
EUDR: EU Deforestation Regulation
EUDR commodities in scope, due diligence, geolocation, country risk benchmarking, penalties and how EUDR data supports DPP readiness.
UK Post-Brexit DPP Landscape
CE vs UKCA, UK EPR for packaging, DRS divergence and whether the UK will mirror ESPR — a practical dual-market strategy.
4 guides
Technology & Implementation
GS1 Standards for Digital Product Passports
How GS1 Digital Link, GTINs, and EPCIS underpin compliant, interoperable Digital Product Passports.
Supply Chain Traceability for DPPs
EUDR, CSDDD, EPCIS, and chain-of-custody for high-risk materials — the traceability stack behind every credible DPP.
Product Authentication: QR, NFC, and Cryptography
How serialised QR codes and cryptographic NFC defeat counterfeits and grey-market diversion.
QR Codes vs NFC: Choosing the Right Carrier
The honest trade-offs between QR codes and NFC tags for connected packaging and Digital Product Passports.
3 guides
Compliance Tools
DPP Compliance Checklist: A Practical Roadmap
A six-workstream checklist for moving from zero to DPP-ready, ahead of your category's delegated act.
DPP Non-Compliance: Penalties and Risk
Market exclusion, member-state fines, greenwashing liability, and the reputational costs of getting it wrong.
Deposit Return Schemes: UK & EU Guide
How UK and EU deposit return schemes work and what beverage producers need on every container.
Ready to make your products DPP-ready?
Start a free SmartLinks trial or talk to our team about your category’s roadmap.