Avery Dennison, a global leader in materials science and digital identification solutions, and partner TripleR, are working with European bedding giant Aquinos Group to enable it to become the first in its sector to meet the requirements of the EU Digital Product Passport (DPP) scheme. The initiative ensures that all bedding materials can be digitally identified and managed – helping to prevent them from going to waste and aiding the circular economy.
Aquinos Group is one of Europe’s largest mattress manufacturers and operates 20 European factories. Within the group, Aquinos Bedding commercialises branded products under well-known brand names with a strong heritage, such as BEKA, Lattoflex*, Swissflex, Schlaraffia, Sembella and Superba. Starting in 2024 it will now begin tagging products with digital ID technology powered by Avery Dennison’s atma.io connected product cloud providing those in the circularity chain with unprecedented information about the origins and materials used in the product.
Creating a digital twin
This process creates a ‘digital twin’ on the atma.io platform with precise product information. In the future, the RFID tags on products will be scanned at recycling centres so that product dismantlers can instantly understand the materials used in manufacturing and separate them more efficiently and effectively so they can be used again. Consumers will also be able to scan the QR code with their smartphone to access detailed product information pre and post-purchase to make better-informed decisions.
When the DPP scheme for mattresses comes into force, Aquinos will have already tagged one million items – making it the first producer to comply with the DPP scheme at a pan-EU scale. Some regions will become active even sooner – in Belgium all mattresses will be RFID-enabled by 2025. Aquinos and TripleR are in alliance with the Belgian industry association Valumat as part of a pioneering collaboration that also includes product dismantlers.
Benjamin Marien, international commercial director at Aquinos Bedding, explains: “DPP sets the next important step in circularity. By being the first in the industry to begin compliance we want to lead by example to inspire the markets, our industry partners and the bedding sector overall to advance environmentally responsible business practices. As brand owner of some of the leading European bedding brands, we will use the power of the brands to raise external awareness of the importance of DPPs. With TripleR and Avery Dennison we are moving bedding sustainability beyond niche implementation to mainstream, and this will be crucial to put an end to bedding materials going to waste.”
Enabling sustainability and circularity
Stefaan Cognie, co-founder, TripleR, adds: “This project is an important milestone and sets a benchmark for how the DPP scheme will operate across Europe to enable sustainability and circularity. We have already developed a digital Identification standard in the bedding industry in Belgium and are engaging with extended producer responsibility (EPR) bodies and mattress associations in different European countries, as well as with the overarching European Mattress Association EBIA to bring DPP compliance to fruition.”
Michael Goller, senior director for atma.io at Avery Dennison, concludes: “We are proud to be working on this project with Aquinos and TripleR. Mattresses are complex and bulky products that require a highly sophisticated sorting and dismantling process. To date, it has proven difficult to do this in a cost-efficient manner – leading to millions of mattresses going to landfill each year. This is precisely why DPPs have been established and we are excited to push boundaries with our partners towards greater traceability, efficiency, and circularity.”