The Hidden Infrastructure of Circularity: Why Data Transparency Matters

When people hear "textile industry," they often think of fashion. However, textiles are everywhere, in hotel rooms, hospitals, cars, offices, and industrial sites. From festival T-shirts and hospitality uniforms to car seat upholstery and modular furniture, textiles form the backbone of multiple sectors. Yet, when it comes to circularity—repair, reuse, and upcycling—most systems are still designed with clothing in mind. 

At Repass, we are not textile manufacturers. We are a technology company working with supply chain transparency. Our perspective is different: we examine how data infrastructure can unlock circularity across sectors, not only in fashion but also in workwear, furniture, and automotive textiles—where volumes are high, lifecycles are long, and waste is often invisible.

The Problem Is Not Just Waste—It Is the Lack of Visibility 

Let’s be clear: repair and upcycling are not new ideas. They have existed for decades. Tailors, upholsterers, mechanics, and local workshops have long extended the life of textiles. But they remain difficult to scale, especially in industrial and commercial contexts. Why? 

• Most products are not designed for repair. Fast fashion, low-cost furniture, and technical workwear often prioritize speed and price over longevity. Seams are glued rather than stitched. Materials are blended rather than modular. Disassembly is costly or impossible. 
• Reverse logistics are fragmented and expensive. Once a product leaves the point of sale, it enters a black box. There is no standardized system for collecting, assessing, and routing used textiles back into circulation—particularly across sectors such as hospitality, automotive, or B2B workwear. 
• Upcycling is often artisanal and lacks industrial pathways. It is creative but not scalable. Most upcycling today occurs in small batches, with limited automation and without integration into mainstream supply chains. 
• Brands and suppliers do not know what happens after the sale. They lose sight of the product after distribution. There is no feedback loop, no condition tracking, and no data on usage or wear. 
• Consumers do not know what is possible or where to go. Even when repair or upcycling is available, it is difficult to find, hard to trust, and rarely incentivized. 

These are not merely operational problems. They are information problems. 

How Can Visibility Be Built and Used? 

Visibility begins with structured, interoperable product data. This includes: 

Digital Product Passports (DPPs) 

These are emerging as regulatory and strategic tools, particularly in the European Union. A DPP can contain: 

• Material composition 
• Construction details 
• Repair instructions 
• Lifecycle history 
• Environmental impact metrics 

For example, a hotel uniform with a DPP could be scanned to reveal its fiber content, stitching method, and recommended repair protocol. A car seat cover could include disassembly instructions and compatibility with local upcycling hubs. 

Standardized Identifiers and Protocols 

Using systems such as GTIN and Digital Link, products can be tagged and tracked across platforms. This allows logistics providers, repair services, and upcyclers to access consistent data without requiring custom integrations. 

Condition and Location Tracking 

Through IoT tags, QR codes, or user input, products can be monitored after sale. This enables: 

• Predictive maintenance (e.g., when a uniform is likely to need repair) 
• Smart routing (e.g., sending a used furniture textile to the nearest upcycling partner) 
• Dynamic incentives (e.g., offering discounts for returning items in good condition) 

Integration into Supply Chain Platforms 

Visibility only matters if it is actionable. This means integrating product data into systems that manage inventory, logistics, and customer engagement. At Repass, we focus on building that connective layer so that data is not merely stored but used to optimize decisions. 

Data Fluency: The Missing Infrastructure 

This is where data transparency becomes critical—not as a buzzword, but as a functional enabler. 

What does data fluency mean in practice? 

• Knowing what is in the product: material composition, construction methods, embedded components 
• Tracking where it has been: usage history, wear patterns, ownership changes 
• Understanding what is possible: repairability, upcycling potential, compliance status 

This Kind of Fluency Allows Systems to Communicate 

Data fluency is not just about having data. It is about having structured, interoperable, and actionable data that can move across systems, stakeholders, and sectors. 

In practice, this means that a product—such as a hotel uniform, a car seat cover, or a modular office chair—can be digitally identified, tracked, and assessed throughout its lifecycle. From manufacturing to use, and eventually to repair or upcycling, every step can be informed by data. 

This kind of fluency enables: 

• Automation: When a product carries a digital identity (e.g., via a QR code or RFID tag linked to a Digital Product Passport), it can be automatically sorted, routed, or flagged for repair. For example, a logistics system can detect that a batch of workwear has reached its wear threshold and trigger a repair cycle without manual inspection. 
• Coordination: Brands, service providers, and logistics partners can share a common language. A furniture manufacturer can send disassembly instructions to a local upcycling partner. A hotel chain can track uniform usage across locations and coordinate centralized repair services. A car manufacturer can identify which seat covers are eligible for reuse based on material and condition data. 
• Decision-making: With visibility into product composition, usage history, and location, companies can make smarter decisions about what to repair, what to upcycle, and what to retire. They can calculate return on investment, environmental impact, and compliance risk—not based on assumptions, but on real-time data. 

This is especially relevant in workwear, furniture, and automotive textiles, where: 

• Products are standardized (e.g., uniforms, seat covers, modular cushions) 
• They are used intensively (daily wear, high friction, exposure to fluids or heat) 
• They are replaced frequently due to hygiene, branding, or wear 

These sectors generate large volumes of textile waste but also offer predictable patterns that can be optimized. With the right data infrastructure, we can shift from reactive waste management to proactive value preservation. 

The Role of Digital Product Passports 

The European Union’s Digital Product Passport (DPP) initiative is more than a sustainability tool. It is a foundational infrastructure for data-driven coordination across sectors. Although often associated with fashion, its scope includes furniture, automotive interiors, and technical workwear—areas where textiles are standardized, intensively used, and frequently replaced. 

This approach opens up significant possibilities: 

• Embedding product-level data into supply chain platforms, enabling traceability from production to post-use 
• Automating intake and triage for repair and upcycling, based on material composition, construction details, and wear history 
• Connecting brands with service providers based on location, product type, and actual condition—not randomly 
• Creating feedback loops that inform design, procurement, and compliance decisions using real-world usage data 

However, for this to function effectively, interoperability is essential. This is why protocols such as GTIN and Digital Link (from GS1) are being referenced. These standards allow systems to exchange structured data reliably across platforms and borders. Without shared standards, visibility remains siloed, and circularity remains confined to pilot programs. 

Respecting the Reality 

It is important not to oversimplify. Repair and upcycling are complex. They require labor, logistics, and cultural change. Not every product can be salvaged. Not every system can be automated. However, it is possible to optimize what is already feasible. Friction can be reduced. Smarter decisions can be made. Infrastructure can be built to support—rather than replace—human expertise. And all of this can be achieved more quickly, effectively, and affordably with data transparency at the core. 

From Waste Management to Value Preservation 

The future of textiles is not solely about recycling. It is about preserving value—keeping products in use longer and managing their next life with intelligence and care. As a technology company working in supply chains, our role is not to redesign garments. It is to build the systems that make repair and upcycling viable—across clothing, workwear, furniture, and automotive textiles. Because the real waste is not only physical. It is the opportunity lost when we do not know what we have, where it is, or what it could become.