PDEXCIL and AWARE™ Sign MoU at Bharat Tex 2026 to Support Digital Product Passport Readiness for India’s Powerloom Sector
Partnership focuses on blockchain-based traceability, producer-owned supply chain data and preparation for the European Union’s Digital Product Passport requirements.
The Powerloom Development & Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) and AWARE™, the Amsterdam-based neutral, cross-border data infrastructure for textile producers, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Bharat Tex 2026 in New Delhi.
The collaboration is intended to help Indian powerloom producers strengthen traceability capabilities and prepare for the European Union’s Digital Product Passport requirements under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation.
The Powerloom Development & Export Promotion Council (PDEXCIL) and AWARE™ formalised a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during Bharat Tex 2026 in New Delhi.
The agreement was signed by Mr. K. Sakthivel, Chairman of PDEXCIL, and Mr. Feico van der Veen, Founder and Managing Director of AWARE™.
The collaboration comes as the European Union introduces Digital Product Passport requirements under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, with textiles identified among the priority product groups. The new requirements are expected to increase the importance of traceability for producers supplying European brands and markets.
According to the organisations, India's powerloom sector occupies an important position at the beginning of the textile value chain. Producers capable of providing verified information on material origin, composition and production history may be better prepared to meet evolving sourcing and compliance requirements in international markets.
AWARE™ provides blockchain-anchored tokenisation technology that generates a Data Token for each production batch. The token carries authenticated information on the material's origin, composition and credentials and remains linked to the physical goods throughout successive stages of production and cross-border movement, creating a verifiable chain of custody.
The platform also enables producers to generate blockchain-issued Crypto TCs® and establish the data foundation required for Digital Product Passports. According to AWARE™, the production data is generated at source and remains under the ownership and control of the producer.
Mr. Feico van der Veen, Founder and Managing Director, AWARE™, said:
"Everyone else built for the brands. We built for the producers. India’s powerloom sector is where a large part of the world’s textiles begins. The data must start here and travel with the goods, not be reconstructed later. In a world where an unverifiable claim can become a legal liability, verified, producer-owned data is not simply a feature. It is access to the market."
Under the MoU, PDEXCIL will introduce AWARE™ to its members and support awareness, education and potential adoption across the powerloom sector through workshops, training sessions, webinars and other member communication channels.
AWARE™ will provide verified PDEXCIL members with preferential terms, onboarding, training and technical support. The collaboration is structured around data sovereignty, with producers retaining ownership and control of the supply chain data they generate.
Mr. K. Sakthivel, Chairman, PDEXCIL, said:
"The EU Digital Product Passport will bring significant changes to the way textile products and production data are presented in international markets. Through this collaboration, we aim to help Indian powerloom producers strengthen their traceability capabilities, prepare for emerging requirements and improve their competitiveness while retaining ownership of their data."
The two organisations intend to begin initial implementation projects with selected PDEXCIL member units shortly.