Digital Product Passports and Anti-Counterfeiting: Can One Secure NFC Tag Do Both?

A Digital Product Passport makes product information accessible: which information, to whom and at what level of detail depends on the applicable rules. Its records need their own safeguards against unauthorised alteration. None of that automatically establishes that a particular physical object belongs to the record being viewed.

Ordinary printed QR data and static NFC links can be copied. If a passport uses such an entry point without additional checks linking it to the physical item, the same link could be placed on another jacket and still lead to genuine brand information. That is potential misuse of the access route, not necessarily a compromised passport record.

Even a product serial number can be copied. For the buyer, the useful question is whether the information belongs to the item in hand, rather than merely whether a plausible record exists.

Secure NFC gives buyers an additional check they can make themselves: tap the label on the garment, read the result, then compare details such as style and size with the item. The label also needs to stay securely attached to the original garment to reduce the risk of transfer.

That distinction is the basis for combining DPP and anti-counterfeiting. The two functions share a product relationship, but they do not provide the same evidence. For the wider passport framework, see our EU Digital Product Passport guide.

Before dispatch, BrandGuard can arrange for secure NFC labels to correspond to the right product information. The customer should see details for the item they have received.

A compatible phone can open the brand service with a tap. The page can show the secure label verification result, followed by the relevant product passport, instructions or support link.

For a jacket, the buyer could compare the style and size, then read about materials, care or repair. The content needs to reflect reliable product information and the applicable requirements.

The connected service can maintain the information over time. Updating care instructions or a repair contact need not mean recalling garments to replace their labels. The brand also needs to keep the service available.

A genuine passport address copied onto another jacket may still display genuine product information. Opening that passport does not mean the item in front of the buyer has passed an authenticity check.

Secure NFC adds a check of the label. A copied page, number or old link cannot replace a new check of the product in hand. Customers should tap the label on the product itself.

If a customer refreshes the page or opens an old link, the service should explain what to do and, where needed, ask for another tap. A network problem or repeated action must not automatically mean that the product is counterfeit.

This does not promise to detect every form of misuse. The brand still needs to consider risks such as label transfer and provide a way for customers to obtain further help.

A genuine label moved to another garment can still mislead a buyer. Alongside checking the label, it is therefore worth considering how to make intact removal, transfer or reuse more difficult.

This is why tag construction is part of the security design. BrandGuard offers a heat-applied NFC garment badge built around NTAG® 424 DNA for compatible textiles. For the jacket in this example, the fabric, badge position and bonding process would need to be qualified together. A heat-applied badge is not automatically suitable for every coated, laminated or heat-sensitive fabric.

The relevant questions are physical: can the badge be removed intact; can someone cut out the surrounding cloth and transplant it convincingly; does washing or flexing weaken the attachment; can the intended phone still read the finished assembly? The answer comes from tests on the actual garment and construction, not from the chip’s security specification.

A tag designed to break when transferred and a tag intended to survive years of use create different engineering demands. The design must address both rather than assuming that ‘durable’ also means ‘transfer-resistant’.

Even a well-attached, correctly verified tag does not independently prove a recycled-fibre percentage or the quality of a repair. Those claims need reliable source data and accountable contributors. Secure NFC strengthens the association with a record; it does not inspect every statement in it.

At purchase, the buyer wants confidence in the item being offered. During repair, a technician may need the correct care or component information. On resale, a new buyer may want both. Keeping one product relationship through those changes is more valuable than simply avoiding an extra label at the factory.

When a damaged label needs replacing, the original product information and repair history should remain available. A clear after-sales process helps avoid sending future buyers to the wrong item record.

The service record also needs an authorised contributor. A successful tap does not, by itself, establish that a repair occurred or entitle the person holding the phone to edit it. Likewise, resale should not expose the previous customer’s identity or complete scan history to a new buyer. Information access and permission to make changes remain separate decisions.

This is where an integrated design earns its keep: the carrier can change while the product’s history remains coherent. It also creates a continuing responsibility. Verification, replacement and passport hosting need an owner and support arrangements for as long as they are required.

Return to the second-hand buyer. Before the jacket arrives, there is nothing to tap. It would make little sense to withhold all passport information until a successful physical authentication, and the ESPR explicitly provides for access before purchase, including distance selling. Articles 9–11 also address access rights and continued availability. See the EU regulation.

A sound design therefore separates the information route from the authenticity verdict. A permitted QR code, online listing or direct link can provide the applicable passport information. The secure NFC route adds its verification evidence when the item is available to read. Access remains subject to the relevant rights; a public entry point does not mean every record or personal detail should be public.

The choice of carrier must still follow the product-specific rules. NFC is not compulsory for every DPP, and it cannot simply replace a mandated QR code. For example, the battery-passport rules specify QR access for EV batteries, light means of transport batteries and industrial batteries above 2 kWh placed on the market or put into service from 18 February 2027. Our battery passport guide covers that separate case.

Where the relevant format and placement rules permit it, one physical tag assembly can contain secure NFC and a printed QR. ‘One tag’ then means one physical carrier, not one access method. If a verifier is unavailable or a badge becomes unreadable, an independent, trusted lookup can help preserve access without pretending that authentication succeeded.

The ESPR ties passport availability to at least the expected product lifetime and requires continued availability even if the responsible operator ceases trading. A long-lasting chip cannot deliver that on its own. Domains, passport services, backups and the ability to recover access need the same attention as the badge.

BrandGuard can provide secure NFC labels suited to the product, match them with the correct product information and offer online verification within the selected service. The complete verification solution can guide customers to the corresponding product passport after verification. Beyond garments, a durable surface-mounted NFC tag may suit other products, depending on their materials and use.

The brand and passport provider need to prepare accurate, complete information and keep the service available. Adding NFC does not complete that work or automatically meet DPP requirements. Agree what the project will provide and who will be responsible before starting.

If the aim is simply to make information easy to find, a permitted printed QR code may be sufficient. If customers should also be able to check a secure label and the brand wants to reduce identity misuse, secure NFC is worth discussing and trying on the actual product.

The strongest reason to combine the two is a better answer to the buyer’s original question: how does this information relate to the item in front of me? One tag can make that answer easier to obtain. Keeping it trustworthy requires the physical product and its records to remain connected long after the first scan. For other construction choices, see our anti-counterfeit label guide.

For a plain-language introduction to product checks, read how secure NFC verification helps customers.