To communicate your product’s environmental, social, and supply chain impact through the Retraced Digital Product Passport (DPP), several in-platform requirements must be completed.
This article explains each step and clarifies how DPP activation and inheritance behave within the new product hierarchy: Style → Variant → SKU
DPP Visualization Options
Retraced offers two ways to display your Digital Product Passport:
1. QR Codes (Offline)
QR codes can be printed and attached to products (e.g., on labels or packaging).
To share your QR codes with a labeling or packaging provider:
You can export your products via Excel
The corresponding DPP link is included in the export
This link can be converted into a QR code by your labeling provider
QR code URLs are also available via the Public API (field qrCodeUrl), so you can retrieve them automatically for external labeling workflows.
Each style shows its QR code under DPP → QR code.
2. Webshop Components (Online)
Retraced widgets can be embedded on your product detail pages.
Webshops call product data using a product code (SKU, variant or style code). You may use either option or both.
To see how a component will look, open DPP → Webshop preview, choose a shop component and a product SKU.
1. Creating and Managing Your Network
In order to digitize your product's journey, you first need to create your network by linking your company to its network partners that participate in the production of your products (styles, variants, SKUs).
There are two options to do so: Linking to existing company profiles or creating new ones if your network partner does not have a profile in Retraced yet. Both options are documented in our help center.
After doing so, you need to decide if you would like to be fully or half transparent about your product's environmental and social impact and supply chain. While full transparency means disclosing the style's journey including information about suppliers (e.g. supplier name, address, description, pictures) and their certificates, half transparency will give consumers limited information. In case, you opt for half transparency, make sure that the supplier profiles are customized according to your preferences.
2. Creating and Managing Your Products (Styles, Variants, SKUs)
Most likely, you would like to create the digital passport for many/all styles. Hence, we recommend bulk-importing your styles by using our in-platform wizard. Note that mandatory product information includes the style code, name and type. While the remaining are optional. Nevertheless, for the passport, we suggest the following product information: Description, Images and Material composition.
It is possible to create styles one-by-one. This option is suitable if only few styles must be created.
In case, style information needs to be updated, you can do so by going into the style page, hovering over a value and clicking the pencil icon (for editing) or save time by updating styles in bulk (see section "How to clear or override values")
More information about products (styles, variants, SKUs) can be found here.
3. Creating Product Maps (Supply Chain Maps)
Once products are created, you must map their supply chains. This is done manually.
If you use Traceability or Supply Chain Mapping, you can link those supply chains instead of creating product maps. More about it in the section below.
More information about product maps can be found here.
4. Linking Products to Supply Chains
Each product level (Style, Variant, SKU) can be linked to a supply chain. For more detail on the linking process follow this guide.
Open the style, go to DPP → Supply chain and choose the source: Mapped supply chain (a saved product map or supply chain mapping) or Order-based (the tracing of a purchase or sales request). Select the map or request and click Save section. You can also link many styles at once with Set supply chain in the selection bar of My Styles.
By default:
Variants and SKUs inherit the supply chain from their parent
If overridden, they can use their own specific supply chain
Example: A blue variant may use a different dyeing facility than a red variant and could have a separate product map.
5. Activating DPP Stories (Story Active)
In order to create a DPP which will publicly show your products DPP relevant info you need to toggle on the story. Linking a supply chain is a required prerequisite. You must also activate the DPP story. See Activate Product Stories for the steps.
You can activate the story on a style, a variant or a SKU. The DPP Story column is shown in the Styles, Variants and SKUs lists. Click + Assign and select Active. To deactivate, click the pencil icon next to Active and select Inactive.
Important: How Story Active works across levels
Downwards: when you activate a style, its variants and SKUs are activated too. When you activate a variant, its SKUs are activated too. Deactivating works the same way.
Not upwards: activating a variant or SKU does not activate its style.
Each level can still be changed separately. For example, you can deactivate one variant while the rest of the style stays active.
Why this matters:
QR codes typically link to the Style
Webshops request data with a product code. This can be an SKU, variant or style code.
The product that matches the code must be Story Active. Otherwise, the webshop widget won’t display a DPP.
During product migration, certain legacy products may have been auto-activated. However, going forward, check the status on each level you use.
Only activated products will display a DPP publicly.
6. Integrating Your Webshop
Important considerations:
Shopify uses the SKU field of your variants. It can contain an SKU, variant or style code from Retraced.
Retraced looks for the code in this order: SKU → Variant → Style. Products without an active product story are skipped.
QR codes often link to Style-level DPP
Ensure the correct level is Story Active
If a webshop calls an SKU, variant or style code:
The product that matches the code must have Story Active enabled
Otherwise, no DPP will display
Integration requires:
CORS whitelisting of your webshop domain (done by Retraced)
Implementation on your side
The connected webshop domain is shown under Company settings → Webshop settings.
If components do not appear, refer to the troubleshooting guide.