Dhaka, Oct. 15 -- In a few years, a shopper in Lyon will be able to scan a small code on a T-shirt label and see what it is made of, where the cotton was grown, which mill spun the yarn and which factory sewed it. She will probably glance at the screen and move on. The authorities will not. Without that record, the shirt cannot be sold in the European Union.

This is the EU's Digital Product Passport. The regulation behind the idea took effect in 2024, and Brussels is setting requirements for one product group at a time, with textiles among the first. Rules for garments are expected in 2027, with passports mandatory roughly 18 months later.

The United States has no similar passport law, but it seems to be headed for the same destination....