Euroconsumers’ members Altroconsumo and OCU are part of CircThread, an EU multi stakeholder consortium finding practical ways to put product markets on a sustainable, circular footing.

A major component of CircThread’s plans to make the vital shift to a circular product system happen is by unlocking consumer access to critical product information in order to drive new ways of buying, maintaining, repairing and reusing appliances. 

CircThread is testing a Digital Information Platform, which can link up to product information such as product datasheets, maintenance guidance, life cycle sustainability assessments and circularity assessment disclosure for appliances which form part of the new EU-regulated ‘digital product passports’. 

• Learn more about how Digital Product Passports can power the circular economy here

Digital Product Information: consumers insights

As consumer experts within the CircThread project, Euroconsumers’ members Altroconsumo and OCU have been running consumer pilots with just over 50 people to test how easy it is for people to engage with the type of product data in Digital Product Passports..

Consumer insights: Digital Product Passports for biomass boilers

In Spain, OCU pilot tested how well the Digital Product Passport worked for consumers using a pellet boiler connected to photovoltaic panels and lithium battery storage. This was chosen as a good way to test out how people could access useful information about battery life and solar panel maintenance.  

Here’s what they learnt:

1. Most users believe the Digital Product Passports would be very useful in the future, especially for accessing product life cycle information and tracking repairs.
2. Consumers valued having to rely on paper records and appreciated the possibility of having an easily accessible, full digital record of their product. 
3. The information people found most valuable was: repair contacts, authorized services,  spare parts and maintenance, warranties and inspection schedules and product details like environmental information.  
4. Users really valued the repair tracking function, but suggested making it more visible and detailed.
5. Navigation and content presentation could be better, for example, For those who are less familiar with technological interfaces, consumers suggested making it easier to download documents and access key sections and making more use of icons and graphics so the experience was more intuitive
6. Most people thought Digital Product Passports would be most useful for tech products, appliances, and vehicles, where continuous repair and maintenance tracking is needed. Clothing and personal items were seen as less relevant, though some users thought it could be helpful for textiles, to access details like care instructions, materials, and carbon footprint.
7. A small group were concerned about the collection of personal data, such as addresses or identification numbers, and about who would have access to that information.  They said they’d like to see stronger protection of this data which could be indirectly exposed through smart devices or invoices uploaded to the platform.

Consumer insights: Digital Product Passports for dishwashers

In Italy, Altroconsumo focused on full, digital product information accessible via a QR code on newly manufactured dishwashers. This rich data can potentially be used in many different ways by consumers who want to make more sustainable choices when they purchase and use household appliances. 

Here, Altroconsumo report back on their findings and ideas for improvements:

1. Participants in the pilot were able to complete tasks and access digital product passport information but they needed support from Altroconsumo. This suggests it needs significant improvements to make it more intuitive and user friendly for people to use it independently.
2. There was a practical challenge with the physical QR code labels which needed to be  waterproof and heat-resistant to withstand years of dishwasher cycles – the nature of the physical product needs to be carefully thought about when designing data access points. 
3. More integration would be really helpful.  Some consumers found it tricky to switch between different apps and websites, for example, repair tips about the dishwasher were hosted on the manufacturer website so users had to leave the Digital Product Passport platform to see them.  Altroconsumo suggests incorporating the repair information into the Digital Product Passport in future iterations. 
4. Formats matter: information on approved repair centres was provided by the manufacturer as a pdf document, participants highlighted that an interactive map would significantly improve usability by allowing consumers to quickly locate the nearest repair service. 
5. Altrocosumo strongly recommends that formal user experience testing and evaluation are integrated into the roll out Digital Product Passport, involving consumers and all partners in the product supply chain.  If an app or tool is seen as too difficult to use, consumers are likely to abandon it. 

Digital Product Passports: getting consumer information flows right

The rich data from Digital Product Passports can help consumers who want to make more sustainable choices when they purchase and use household appliances. 

In the real life use cases that OCU and Altroconsumo studied, consumers appreciated and valued the potential, but also gave us some useful tips on how to make Digital Product Passports more user friendly.  

Information and guidance is often seen as key to changing behaviour. However, we know,  and consumers in the pilots confirmed, that it takes more than just making technical data available to shift patterns. 

Digital Product Passports are in their initial phase, but learning exactly what consumers want from them will be critical for their success. 

To discover more about the CircThread learnings, register here for the final all day event that will take place at the COMET conference centre, Brussels on May 8th