AAFA publishes apparel traceability glossary in DPP era

The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) published its first Global Apparel, Footwear & Accessories Glossary of Traceability Terms on 3 June 2026 — a voluntary, open-source reference that defines the vocabulary of supply chain traceability, from "chain of custody" to "forensic tracing."

For brand owners navigating the EU's Digital Product Passport (DPP), the timing is no accident. The DPP, mandated under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), will require brands to attach structured, verifiable lifecycle data to their products. But before data can flow, everyone in the chain — brands, mills, software vendors and regulators — needs to mean the same thing by the same words. The glossary targets exactly that gap.

It is not, however, a DPP manual. The AAFA document defines the physical supply chain and its paperwork — tiers, roles, materials and trade documents — with a distinctly American accent, emphasising origin verification and forensic methods tied to US forced-labour enforcement. The EU framework, by contrast, is binding law centred on sustainability and circularity data. The two overlap on shared concepts but carry different DNA.

The impact cuts both ways. For US brands selling into Europe, the glossary offers an on-ramp to DPP-readiness in familiar language. For European brands, it signals that US industry wants a seat at the table as global traceability standards take shape — and a chance to align terminology before ISO develops its global framework from 2028.

The risk is real: if AAFA's terms and the EU's drift apart, the industry gains a third dialect rather than a shared one.