Support

Glossary

Definitions for key terms used throughout PassportBox, EU DPP regulations, and the GS1 Digital Link standard. Terms are grouped by category.

Core Concepts

Digital Product Passport (DPP)

A standardized, machine-readable record that captures a product's identity, material composition, manufacturing origin, compliance certifications, and end-of-life instructions. DPPs are mandated by the EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) for an expanding list of product categories. They are accessed by consumers, regulators, and supply chain actors via a QR code or URL and are designed to accompany a product throughout its entire lifecycle.

In PassportBox: The central record type in PassportBox. Every passport you create is a DPP.

GS1 Digital Link

A web URI standard defined by GS1 that encodes a product identifier (typically a GTIN) into a scannable URL following the pattern https://id.gs1.org/01/[GTIN]. A single GS1 Digital Link QR code can serve multiple scanning contexts simultaneously — consumer product information, retailer stock lookup, and regulatory DPP access — by routing to different endpoints based on the scan context. It is the mandated data carrier format for EU ESPR Digital Product Passports.

In PassportBox: PassportBox generates a GS1 Digital Link automatically when you publish a passport, provided your organization's GTIN prefix is configured in Settings.

GTIN (Global Trade Item Number)

A globally unique 8, 12, 13, or 14-digit numeric identifier assigned to a trade item by GS1. GTINs are embedded in barcodes (EAN-13, UPC-A) and GS1 Digital Links. They uniquely identify a product at the brand-owner level and are the primary identifier used in GS1 Digital Links for DPPs.

In PassportBox: Your organization's GTIN prefix is set in Settings → Organization. PassportBox uses it to construct GS1 Digital Links for each published passport.

ESPR (EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation)

EU Regulation 2024/1781, which establishes a framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products sold in the European Union. ESPR mandates Digital Product Passports for regulated product categories, starting with textiles and batteries and expanding to electronics, furniture, and other categories through delegated regulations issued by the European Commission. Products within scope must carry a DPP accessible via a GS1 Digital Link QR code.

In PassportBox: PassportBox is designed to help businesses meet the data and accessibility requirements of ESPR. Consult a regulatory advisor for category-specific obligations.

QR Code

A two-dimensional matrix barcode that encodes data as a pattern of black and white squares, readable by smartphone cameras and dedicated scanners. In the context of PassportBox, a QR code encodes the GS1 Digital Link for a published passport, allowing consumers and auditors to access the product's compliance record by scanning the physical label. QR codes are generated by PassportBox as PNG and PDF label files.

In PassportBox: The Generate Label function in PassportBox produces print-ready QR code labels.

SKU (Stock Keeping Unit)

A unique alphanumeric identifier assigned by a business to a specific product variant in its internal catalog. Unlike GTINs, SKUs are internal and not globally standardized. In PassportBox, every product requires a unique SKU within your organization, which serves as the primary key for deduplication during CSV imports and Shopify sync.

In PassportBox: SKUs must be unique within your PassportBox organization. Duplicate SKUs are rejected on product creation and import.

PassportBox Specific

Passport

In PassportBox, a Passport is the core compliance record that links a product to its lifecycle data: materials, supplier information, certifications, sustainability metrics, and public-facing compliance fields. Passports are versioned and go through a DRAFT → PUBLISHED → ARCHIVED lifecycle. Only one passport per product can be in PUBLISHED status at a time. Each published passport has a public URL and a GS1 Digital Link.

In PassportBox: Passports are distinct from Products. A Product is an internal catalog entry; a Passport is the public compliance record built on top of it.

Passport Status (DRAFT / PUBLISHED / ARCHIVED)

The lifecycle state of a passport. DRAFT: the passport is being built; it has no public URL and no GS1 Digital Link. PUBLISHED: the passport has passed compliance validation, has a live public URL and GS1 Digital Link, and its QR code is scannable. ARCHIVED: the passport is no longer the active version; its public URL remains accessible for audit purposes but shows an archived notice and no new labels should be generated from it.

In PassportBox: Status is displayed as a color-coded badge on passport list views and detail pages.

Public URL

The publicly accessible web address where consumers can view a published passport's compliance data. Public URLs follow the pattern /p/[slug] and are generated when a passport is first published. The URL is permanent for the lifetime of the passport (including after archiving) and is embedded in the GS1 Digital Link.

In PassportBox: Only fields marked as 'Public' in the passport edit form are visible at the public URL. Sensitive internal fields are never exposed.

Compliance Score

A percentage from 0 to 100 that indicates how completely a passport's data satisfies the required and recommended fields for EU DPP compliance. Required fields contribute more weight than recommended fields. A passport must reach the minimum required threshold (currently 60%) to be published. A score of 100% means all required and recommended fields are populated.

In PassportBox: Displayed on passport detail pages and on the Dashboard overview.

Label

A generated print file (PNG or PDF) produced by PassportBox that contains the QR code encoding the GS1 Digital Link for a published passport. Labels can be generated in roll format (continuous strip for label printers) or sheet format (fixed-size grid). Labels are intended for physical application to product packaging, hangtags, or accompanying documentation.

In PassportBox: Labels can only be generated for passports in PUBLISHED status. The PDF format is recommended for print vendors as it is vector-quality and scales without loss.

Supplier Verification

The process by which PassportBox confirms a supplier's identity and the validity of their certifications. A supplier starts in Pending status when first created. Verification involves confirming contact details and uploaded certification documents. Verified suppliers are marked with a green badge and their data carries higher compliance weight in the passport compliance score.

In PassportBox: Suppliers are managed in the Suppliers section of the sidebar.

Scan Event

A recorded instance of a published passport's GS1 Digital Link, public URL, or QR code being accessed. Each scan event captures a timestamp, the passport accessed, and anonymized geographic and device metadata. Scan events are aggregated in the Analytics dashboard. Repeated accesses from the same IP within a short window may be deduplicated to filter noise.

In PassportBox: Scan events are displayed in Analytics → Scans. Raw event logs are available on Growth and Enterprise plans.

Integrations

Shopify Domain

The unique identifier for a Shopify store, in the format yourstore.myshopify.com. This is the internal Shopify subdomain assigned at store creation and is distinct from any custom domain the store may use publicly. PassportBox requires the .myshopify.com domain (not a custom domain) to authenticate the Shopify OAuth connection and sync products.

In PassportBox: Set your Shopify domain in Settings → Integrations → Shopify before initiating a product sync.

CSV Import

A bulk product creation method that accepts a comma-separated values file matching PassportBox's product schema. The import flow validates each row for required fields (name, SKU, category), checks for duplicate SKUs, and reports per-row errors in a downloadable error report. Successful rows are created as products; failed rows are skipped.

In PassportBox: Download the CSV template from Import → CSV Import to see the required column headers and allowed field values.

Stripe Customer Portal

The Stripe-hosted billing management interface where PassportBox customers can update their payment method, view invoices, retry failed payments, and cancel or modify their subscription. The portal is accessible from the Billing page in PassportBox and opens as a separate Stripe-hosted session.

In PassportBox: Only the account Owner can access the Stripe Customer Portal.

Compliance Data Fields

Carbon Footprint

An estimate of the total greenhouse gas emissions, expressed in kilograms of CO2 equivalent (kg CO2e), associated with the production of one unit of the product. This includes emissions from raw material extraction, manufacturing, and transport to the point of sale (Scope 1, 2, and relevant Scope 3 emissions). Under ESPR, carbon footprint disclosure is a required field for most regulated product categories.

In PassportBox: Entered as a numeric value (kg CO2e per unit) in the Sustainability section of the passport edit form.

Recycled Content

The percentage of the product's total material weight that is composed of post-consumer or post-industrial recycled material. For example, a product made from 40% recycled polyester and 60% virgin cotton has a recycled content of 40%. ESPR requires disclosure of recycled content percentage and, in some categories, minimum thresholds.

In PassportBox: Entered as a percentage (0–100) in the Materials section of the passport edit form.

Recyclability

A declaration of whether and how the product can be recycled at end of life. This includes which components are recyclable, which recycling streams they belong to (e.g. paper, plastics, metals), and any disassembly instructions required before recycling. ESPR requires recyclability information to be disclosed in the DPP to support circular economy goals.

In PassportBox: Entered as a structured text field in the End-of-Life section of the passport edit form.

Material Declaration

A structured list of the materials that make up the product, where each entry specifies the material name, its percentage of total product weight, and its geographic or supplier origin. For example: Cotton (55%, India), Polyester recycled (40%, Portugal), Elastane (5%, Germany). Material declarations are central to ESPR compliance and drive the recycled content and circularity metrics.

In PassportBox: Added as individual material entries in the Materials section of the passport edit form. Each entry requires a name and percentage; origin is recommended.