5.1.1 GS1 identification standards (GTIN) as the common language for unique product identifiers

The Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) is GS1’s core identifier: a unique number assigned to a specific product that is recognised, read and understood consistently across brands, retailers, logistics providers and, increasingly, recyclers. GS1 standards already underpin the vast majority of product barcodes in circulation in Europe, which means that for most SMEs already selling into retail, the identification infrastructure a DPP needs is not something to build from scratch. It very likely already exists on the product in the form of an existing barcode. The GTIN itself conforms to the international identification standard ISO/IEC 15459, and GS1 Digital Link to ISO/IEC 18975, which is part of why regulators keep converging on GS1 as the practical foundation for the DPP rather than inventing a parallel system; GS1’s own members are migrating toward 2D barcodes as the default by 2027, an industry initiative known as “Sunrise 2027” that lines up closely with the ESPR’s own textile timeline.

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