We have just published the details at wearpro.co/sustainability. This post explains what is coming, why it matters, and who it is for.
Why are uniforms and apparel a sustainability blind spot?
Most ESG strategies overlook uniform, apparel and merchandise procurement entirely, despite it involving millions of garments a year. The numbers are hard to ignore once you look:
- The global uniform and workwear market is worth $65B+ (UniformMarket, 2025).
- More than 5 billion uniforms are produced every year (UniformMarket, 2025).
- US promotional-product sales hit a record $26.6 billion in 2024, with branded apparel (T-shirts) the single largest category (Advertising Specialty Institute, 2025).
- Textiles account for an estimated 2–10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions (UNEP).
- Under 1% of clothing is recycled into new garments (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, A New Textiles Economy).
Figures are estimates and vary by definition and source, but the direction is clear: a large, recurring procurement category sits almost entirely unmeasured.
And it is not only workwear. Branded apparel and promotional merchandise — the polos, tees, tote bags and event giveaways handed out by the millions — are usually bought to a rock-bottom unit price, which is exactly what shortens their life. Low-cost, low-durability items get used a handful of times and thrown away, so the waste is not incidental — it is designed in. The same false economy that makes a cheap uniform expensive over its life makes cheap merchandise an outright waste stream. The tools that could help — lifecycle analysis, carbon accounting, traceability platforms — were built for enterprises with big budgets and specialist teams, not for the hotels, restaurants, offices, healthcare providers and multi-site operators buying uniforms, apparel and merchandise every quarter. Wearpro runs the whole programme, so the impact of all of it — uniforms, apparel and branded merchandise — is visible in one place.
"The waste is not incidental — it is designed in."
What does the market keep ignoring?
Five gaps come up again and again:
- Impact you can't see. There is no simple way to quantify a uniform programme's environmental impact, let alone improve it.
- Decisions made on price alone. Without a way to weigh durability and lifecycle value, lowest unit price wins by default.
- Untraceable Scope 3 emissions. Most of a garment's footprint sits upstream in Scope 3, and few buyers can trace a single item from raw material to delivery.
- Regulation is arriving. The EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) will require textiles to carry a digital identity — composition, origin, traceability. No passport, no market access. Most SMEs don't yet know it exists.
- No joined-up end-of-life. Fabrics, recyclers, carbon calculators and take-back schemes are separate, siloed services.
What does Wearpro V2 actually do?
The design principle is simple: sustainability data should be a byproduct of running the programme, not a separate app to learn. Each capability lives inside the steps you already run — design, source, order, reorder.
Carbon footprint per garment
The footprint is calculated at the design and selection stage, across the full lifecycle: raw material, production, transport, use and end-of-life. It is broken out by Scope 1, 2 and 3, ready for your ESG report, and lets you compare fabrics, suppliers and origins side by side. The method aligns to the GHG Protocol Product Standard and ISO 14067.
Materials and supplier intelligence
A library of sustainable materials — organic cotton, recycled polyester (rPET), PFAS-free finishes and more — sits alongside supplier scorecards drawn from GOTS, GRS and OEKO-TEX certifications. A "Green Swap" suggests a lower-impact alternative in one click, with the CO₂ saving shown, and durability scoring helps you buy better and buy less.
EU Digital Product Passport
A passport is generated the moment a design is signed off — composition, origin, traceability, carbon footprint, recyclability and care — carried on a standards-based (GS1) QR code on the garment label. No blockchain, no separate implementation project.
Take-back and circularity
Launch take-back collections and generate return labels in a click, with routing to the nearest recycler or upcycler by material and location. You can track items diverted, CO₂ avoided and water saved, with an optional second-life marketplace for surplus stock.
Dashboard and ESG reporting
A live dashboard tracks carbon, water, waste diverted and material scores over time, with one-click reports mapped to the GRI, SASB and EU CSRD frameworks, anonymous peer benchmarking, and reduction targets you can set and track.
How is the carbon footprint actually calculated?
Footprints follow the GHG Protocol Product Standard and ISO 14067, drawing on recognised emission-factor data, and are reviewed for defensibility so they stand up in ESG and compliance reporting. The full lifecycle is modelled — raw material through end-of-life — and results are split by Scope 1, 2 and 3, which matters because the majority of a garment's footprint sits upstream in Scope 3, the hardest part for most buyers to trace today.
Is the Digital Product Passport really EU-ready?
It is being built to the open standards the EU is adopting for the Digital Product Passport, using a standards-based GS1 QR code rather than a proprietary or blockchain-based system. The aim is that you are prepared for the regulation as it comes into force, with no complex implementation — the passport is created automatically when a design is signed off, rather than assembled by hand before a deadline.
What does this replace?
The point of V2 is to fold capabilities that normally live in expensive, separate tools into the programme you already run.
| What you need | How it works today | With Wearpro V2 |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon footprint | Only large enterprises can afford specialist LCA software | Auto-calculated inside the procurement workflow |
| DPP compliance | Only mega-brands run traceability platforms | A passport generated the moment a design is signed off |
| Sustainable materials | Fragmented databases and certifications | Smart recommendations embedded in the design phase |
| Recycling and circularity | Brand-specific, isolated recycler silos | Platform-level take-back and routing engine |
| ESG reporting | SMEs can't afford sustainability consultants | One-click reports, ready to file |
It follows the same playbook as V1, which delivered enterprise-grade uniform management to smaller businesses with zero friction and zero lock-in. V2 does that for sustainability: no costly add-on, no new tools, and multi-site by design, with every location handled independently.
Wearpro V2 is being built now, with testing opening soon to a small group. See the full feature breakdown and register your interest at wearpro.co/sustainability.
Frequently asked questions
When will V2 be available?
Wearpro V2 is in active development, with a testing release opening soon to a small group of interested members. Register your interest at wearpro.co/sustainability to be considered for early access.
Will it cost extra?
V2 is designed as a built-in extension of the Wearpro programme you already run — enterprise-grade sustainability tooling without the enterprise price tag. Final pricing will be shared with testers first.
Do I need to change how I work?
No. V2 lives inside the steps you already use — design, sourcing, ordering and reorder. The sustainability data is generated as a byproduct of running your programme, not through a separate app.
Where do the carbon numbers come from?
Footprints follow the GHG Protocol Product Standard and ISO 14067, drawing on recognised emission-factor data, and are reviewed for defensibility so they hold up in ESG and compliance reporting.
Who is it built for?
The hotels, restaurants, offices, healthcare providers and multi-site teams the big enterprise platforms won't serve — priced to be part of Wearpro, not a costly add-on.
Key takeaways
- Uniforms and branded apparel are a large, recurring, and almost entirely unmeasured category in corporate sustainability.
- Wearpro V2 builds product carbon footprints (GHG Protocol, ISO 14067), EU Digital Product Passports (GS1 QR), sustainable-material swaps, take-back and CSRD-ready reporting into the design-to-reorder workflow you already use.
- The data is a byproduct of running the programme — no separate app, no enterprise price tag, multi-site by design.
- The EU Digital Product Passport is coming; V2 is built to the open standards it is adopting so you are prepared by default.
- V2 is in development with testing soon. Register interest to help shape it and get early access.