Eco-friendly clothing brand PANGAIA is back in the news with the addition of yet another innovation in its product line. In March, the UK-based brand unveiled a sneaker made with grape leather, and now we’re getting a look at its new Digital Passport program in the “Horizon” capsule. 

We’ll get to the beautifully-vibrant clothes in a moment, but first, the Digital Passport.

The Digital Passport is not the QR-coded label that’s stitched on the T-shirt, but rather the website that the code takes you to. This page provides important information like the shirt’s product lifecycle, environmental impact savings, care instructions, and more.

Although PANGAIA already provides product information like this on its website, the Digital Passport now shares this data in one simple and engaging place. What’s more is that this digitized product experience will enable the brand to update its customers in real-time as the breadth of its impact reporting evolves. For example, carbon and water impact data could be added retrospectively to a Digital Passport if the results of a full Life Cycle Assessment were pending. 

PANGAIA partnered with product digitization company EON to bring its Digital Passport to life. On its website, EON touts itself as a company that “enables brands to turn products into media channels and revenue generating assets — powering new business models, building powerful customer connections, and driving sustainable and circular business model transformation.” In short, EON is digitizing Earth-friendlier fashion. 

As we discussed in great detail in our February story, “Footwear Needs More Truth In Labeling,” we laid out the case for why brands need to be more transparent about their products. According to a McKinsey & Company report from July 2020, “67% [of surveyed consumers] consider the use of sustainable materials to be an important purchasing factor, and 63% consider a brand’s promotion of sustainability in the same way.”

As these and similar numbers continue to rise, with sustainable purchasing habits becoming more prevalent around the world, “it stands to reason that customers will forge deeper relationships with brands who are open and transparent,” said our Editor-in-Chief in that February op-ed. 

In an official press release, PANGAIA states that although it is still at the start of its own circularity journey, these Digital Passports will help bridge that gap until the brand can offer customers a fully circular model.

Unfortunately however, the Digital Passport is only available on the Horizon T-shirt. Which brings us back to the collection. 

PANGAIA’s Horizon collection is inspired by the world’s most beautiful horizons and the vibrant colors seen at different times of the day. Each of the color schemes — Sunrise Blue, Dusk Green, Sunset Pink, and Dawn Blue — were produced with environmentally friendly Oeko-Tex®-certified dyes that are non-toxic and chemical-free. The dying process is said to be water-efficient and treats waste effluents, it also captures and reuses water during the washing process.

Additionally, all items, ranging from shorts to hoodies, are made with 100% organic cotton, and feature trims, labels and threads that are either recycled or responsibly sourced. Even the packaging is bio-based, and thus fully compostable.

The PANGAIA Horizon capsule dropped this past weeked in both kid’s and adult sizing, but they’re selling out fast. So head over to pangaia.com now to purchase your Horizon garb before it’s too late.

And be on the lookout for more PANGAIA product launches, as the brand states that it will be adding Digital Passport labels to new and existing items throughout the year.