Verified Chinese data powers DPP compliance

Originally published 18 September 2026

You should read this if you are…

• An EU-based brand looking for Chinese supply chain data to support its DPP compliance
• An EU-based brand looking to combine its DPP compliance efforts with a Chinese factory data provider
• A Chinese supplier looking to showcase its data transparency compliance to the EU market
• A global brand that supplies to the EU using a Chinese supply chain, looking for Chinese supply chain data to support its DPP compliance

What does LYNK provide EU brands and Chinese manufacturers?

LYNK International Group is a Chinese supply chain data infrastructure company that verifies environmental, social and governance (ESG) and carbon data across Asian manufacturers. It does so to power digital product passports (DPP) for European brands and ensure Asia’s ongoing compliance with European Union (EU) policy.

On behalf of EU brands with supply chains spanning Asia, its process involves contacting their Asian suppliers; performing data collection; monitoring and verifying (which includes providing satellite images and GPS coordinates); capturing and uploading data – relating to carbon emissions and environmental footprint – into the platform or database of their clients’ choice; and renewing data for every batch of the product, to ensure accuracy. As part of this process, LYNK recommends that brands set up their own compliance database; this way, when LYNK populates it with verified supplier data, brands can ‘pour and extract’ data at any time.

Ultimately, LYNK provides boots-on-the-ground verification and data collection to fulfil EU brands’ data transparency requirements and populate their DPPs. The company verifies ESG and carbon data through authorised factory-level monitoring, per-batch renewal, lifecycle-stage environmental tracking, satellite and GPS verification for land use and cross-border data partnerships that respect national data security laws while enabling standardised global reporting, the company claims.

Why is this important? China and Europe ‘should work together’

Chinese suppliers passive towards DPPs

Today, as the EU’s DPPs continue to roll out throughout the region – a regulation within the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) that will require product and supply chain information attached via digital records – many Asian companies remain unaware of its impending importance, LYNK International Group tells WTiN. However, efforts such as LYNK’s are ongoing to ensure preparation and compliance.

LYNK International Group is a Chinese supply chain data infrastructure company that verifies ESG and carbon data across Asian manufacturers to power DPPs for European brands and ensure Asia’s ongoing compliance with EU policy. But Cindy So, chief executive officer (CEO) at the company, tells WTiN that “the DPP itself is not that well known in the Chinese supplier market”. So explains that communication between the EU and external countries is lacking; the reasons for the DPP have been left unclear and therefore manufacturers have been left alienated. “Manufacturers in China, and even in the US, they are anxious. They ask me: ‘Cindy, why does the EU ask for DPPs? I don’t understand’. These manufacturers are used to 30+ years of fast production, where they receive an order and a booking and the deal is done.”

Other contributing factors – such as the as-yet-defined data requirements of the DPP – have left Chinese suppliers ‘passive’ towards the impending regulations. But, according to So, Chinese suppliers must become actively prepared for the new measures not only for compliance sake – and ongoing uninterrupted trade – but because “in the future, transparency data will be a must to establish trust”.

To remain compliant, EU brands must initiate Asian suppliers

EU brands, sitting upstream in the supply chain, need Chinese suppliers to provide accurate product data. Without this supplier-level information on materials, manufacturing processes and environmental impacts, EU brands may be left unable to populate DPPs accurately and, as such, meet regulatory obligations.

As such, So explains that it is urgent for EU companies to understand that Asian manufacturers can and will comply – especially with the supply chain data infrastructure offered by LYNK – but EU brands themselves must be the ones to initiate and mobilise supply chain action. “Brands and retailers are the first priority responsible party, according to the regulation,” she explains.

According to So, Asian manufacturers need European brands to mandate clearly; explain why DPPs matter; and build the data infrastructure that ‘makes participation worthwhile’. Without that push, many Asian suppliers may default to confusion and inaction: “Manufacturers always follow requirements, but if you give them the [choice] to make a decision, they actually don’t know what to do. They could think it’s a time and money wasting [exercise].”

Collaborative compliance could be a lucrative exercise

So suggests LYNK seeks to reframe DPP compliance from a ‘cost burden’ to a ‘profit centre’. She explains that many Asian manufacturers have not yet realised the financial benefits of proving low-carbon or net-zero credentials through verified DPP data.

LYNK tells WTiN that compliance could actually ‘unlock premium pricing tiers’ for manufacturers – and that, within three years, compliant Chinese suppliers could gain significant competitive advantage in the EU market. Without adoption, Asian manufacturers may find themselves ‘locked into lower tiers’ – ie, stuck selling unverified products while competitors with DPP infrastructure capture the green European market.

As such, LYNK says European brands and retailers must communicate to Asian suppliers that DPPs can offer more than compliance. So says DPPs offer a gateway to ‘unlocking massive ESG investment pools’, but that only works if brands proactively build the infrastructure and mandate it down the chain. Chinese manufacturers will follow, she explains, but they need clear direction and this compelling, lucrative reasoning explained.

Ultimately, solutions such as LYNK’s may be an essential bridge between EU brands and their Asian suppliers; by utilising LYNK’s boots-on-the-ground approach, EU brands can begin to build an engaging proposition and, as a result, a fully transparent supply chain.

Opportunities

EU brands can cut costs on data collection

Today, So tells WTiN that EU brands spend heavily on fragmented, reactive quality control – ie, sending auditors to factories, managing multiple middlemen who ‘help them [gather] the data’, and duplicating verification across disconnected systems. But LYNK’s proposition – a centralised database that already holds verified, continuously updated supplier data – means repeated audits for every new order or regulation are not required, and brands can conduct automated ESG data pulls instead of manual, bespoke reporting. So claims that “in the coming two or three years, it can reduce [a brand’s] product quality control cost" because once the infrastructure exists, the ‘cost of compliance drops dramatically’.

Unlock ESG investment pools

Under the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), pension funds and asset managers must prove their portfolios meet stated sustainability claims or risk greenwashing penalties, so they actively seek verifiably compliant companies. For brands, becoming eligible for this investment makes borrowing and raising money cheaper, and raises the company's market value. But eligibility requires proof, not claims, and verified supply chain data via DPPs delivers that evidence. This data subsequently draws ESG capital: funds earmarked for genuinely sustainable companies.

LYNK’s So cites the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA) – the most commonly cited industry benchmark – which put total global sustainable investment assets at US$30.3tn in its 2022 Global Sustainable Investment Review. As mentioned, these funds cannot invest in companies without credible sustainability credentials, but DPPs provide auditable proof of environmental control, human rights care and governance. As such, a brand with verified DPP data becomes investable to this capital, while competitors without it are screened out. So says: "If you can do it right, this money can follow you [...] follow your sustainable supply chains." The DPP becomes a financial passport, not just a regulatory one, she suggests.

Benefits to EU brands and Chinese manufacturers

Outlook

Ultimately, WTiN’s conversation with LYNK highlights how European brands remain responsible for meeting their EU obligations, but that they cannot produce a credible DPP without reliable information coming from the international supply chain – specifically, hubs such as China.

This means many upstream EU brands may soon find themselves non-compliant with the new EU rules. As such, the company asserts that European enterprises must mobilise and collaborate with Chinese manufacturers to each share knowledge and data. Solutions that simplify this data collection and combination process – such as that offered by LYNK – may become paramount to ensuring a wholly transparent and verified supply chain, and particularly so if these entities seek access to the gargantuan ESG investments available.

On the flip side, Chinese readers should take note that LYNK intends to act as a bridge with EU brands to create this comprehensive data platform. Not only will this support EU brands with said new compliance rules, but doubly Chinese suppliers’ compliance efforts, while strengthening their resilience, competitivity and ongoing work with their EU customers.

There, of course, remain ongoing uncertainties such as the yet-undefined data requirements of the DPPs. However, LYNK claims that its comprehensive data-capture provides a flexible infrastructure – in that it captures whatever regulators eventually mandate, organised by lifecycle stage – that will be adaptable to future rules, as opposed to waiting passively for rules to settle.

Abridged interview with Cindy So, CEO, LYNK International Group

Otis Robinson (OR): Can you tell me a little bit about LYNK, you know, how the company got started, what it offers to the industry?

Cindy So (CS): In our company, in the past, we have many experts in different areas and in different companies. We have been all working on the supply chains, data safety, and also the technical solutions of the enterprises' risk management for years. And then eventually one day we find a meeting together and we consider this way, and this trend will be the future solution for all of us to having the traceability and the clarity, supply chain, I would say, ultimate solution. So that's why we have this company setting up. And as you know that Asia is a key market of the supply chain areas. It's not only China, but also India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. So we think by this kind of support, eventually we will be able to support the brands and the retailers to having a better solution with a lower cost. So this is our aim to set up this company.

Basically we have four different maps in our business chain. One is the ESG data and digital solutions, which includes digital passport, and also integrating the AI and open source information, to generating the supply chain data for the brands and eventually to having the one-stop solutions for all the green regulations. This is our basic core business line. And also another one is supply chain quality assurance service, which includes, but not limited to, our warehousing and the shipment assurance with the inspections, audits, and also the carbon emission calculating part. This is our second business line. So our third business line is the carbon asset development and the management, currently is mainly focusing on Asia, because supply chains has to be close to the suppliers. So the carbon emission calculating is more efficient and is actually able to be used for the supply chain as their carbon calculating data, because for European regulations right now there are many strings and many requirements that you cannot just claim your product is great, right? For example, like the CBAM regulation, they actually need your carbon data. So that's also what we are doing as the third business line, using the carbon asset development as a tool, helping them to merge together with the enterprises' products. So in this way it will be a continuous sustainability move rather than just buying the carbon from the market. And we also have the fourth line, which is just getting started — because since we already have many solutions helping the brands and retailers, some clients are actually asking us to help them do the sourcing and help them for the global green supply chain setup. So trading is also a partial part of our business line.

OR: How is the Chinese market preparing for digital product passports at the minute?

CS: A DPP is the future regulation, right? It's not that effective already. Even the battery regulation is effective from 2027, which is already the earliest. So textiles are coming next to batteries, also in 2027. So DPP itself might not be that well known in the China supplier market – or I would say all the supply chain market – is not a popular concept at this moment. But the green regulations already have been studied in many institutes. We need to understand that although regulation has been published for a while, especially ESPR, because DPP is under ESPR and the requirement is based on the brand and the sustainable data across all the stages, however it's separated – the regulation itself right now is separated from the product regulations. You can see the battery regulation right now has the DPP requirement inserted into the product regulation. However, many, even experts, if they don't understand what DPP comes from, then they may not understand why they need the DPP. And even some professional organisations think that DPP is not finalised yet. So this is the key communication gap in the market right now.

However, the green regulation, as I said, already has been studied in many institutes here in China, between governments, universities, and also enterprises. They all start to study the green regulations from Europe, because we believe this is a really good tool that we can also help our suppliers to get to the next level of management, from human rights, from the transparency, from the environmental way and the governance. Because we all know that in the past 30 years we are more like fast production – from the buyers, from the retailers, you just give me an order and booking, right? You send your product specifications and your contract, I sign the contract and that's the deal, I ship my products, then the deal is done, right? But according to current European regulations, the combination of the green regulation, environmental and governance, is actually the key value. You can see in the past 30-plus years, human rights and social influence has been leading in the market – we have SLCP, we have Sedex, we have all the different kinds of auditing based on human rights and health and safety. However, since the CSDDD, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, came in around two years ago, the trading model is changing, because right now we are more focusing on copying the ESG methodology into all industries – that's why they expanded the CSDDD regulation. We believe that for each product regulation, it's like a plant – you have CSDDD as the basic soil, and then you have different product regulations on top as the bridge. ESPR and the DPP is kind of the ingredient, the "healthy powder" for the plant – you put the powder into the soil, then your product regulations make more prosperity. So the whole market needs one combined solution based on the green regulations – not only for DPP, but for all the green regulations, for example ESPR, EUDR, the new battery rules, because they all need to have a combined solution – it's all related to data transparency. In the past you needed only an audit report, a testing report, and your contract to ship products. In the future you need transparency data – it's a high-level data for enterprises. In the future, this is a must to establish trust and transparency trading to make the market better.

OR: If we think about a Chinese manufacturer who is supplying to a European brand, how does LYNK gather information to make sure its data is transparent for this European company?

CS: First of all, this has to be required or started by the brands or retailers, because they are the first priority responsible party according to the regulation. So after that, possibly we will need the key suppliers, the tier-1 suppliers, to know the requirement and understand that the DPP is not – if you don't understand what's the core value of the DPP, you may think it's time-wasting and money-wasting. However, if you could really build it right and use it right, the enterprises and the suppliers will be able to easily have their own supply chain compliance, the ESG index. This is something valuable – both of them can gain much more money than what they currently have, and they can take more responsibility for the environmental and social part. So eventually it will be a beneficial circle. From this angle, even the brands and retailers will be able to clearly know how to invest in their own qualified, valuable suppliers – because right now it seems not possible for most products, but in the future, if you use your DPP right, if you use your supply chain data centre right, you can do that.

So that's why we suggest the brands set up their own compliance database – this centralised database means brands themselves can pour and extract the data whenever a portal is requested. So if CBAM requests the data, you can easily get it from your central database. And for DPP, different products, different batches, you can also pour your data easily from it. For our working practice, right now we are, of course by the client's authorisation, contacting the suppliers to do the data collecting and the monitor and verification services. So by that we will be able to capture the data and load it into the platform or the database for the clients. What we need to really pay more attention to is data safety – in every country, not only China, but major countries in the world, they all have data safety issues. We are facing not only importer countries' regulation, but also the exporter countries – they have different data safety policies, data security regulations. So for the future market, we are not only facing a QR code as a DPP – actually we are facing a giant database behind it. You can see from the major brand regulations in Europe, they all require satellite images, GPS coordinates, to make sure that, for example, there's no deforestation situation, or even for silk, you need to make sure that the leaves your production is based on is legal and doesn't have environmental issues. So that level of verification needs a high level of data collecting capabilities and data verification capabilities. That's also why we have our company set up, because we are professionals with the data. Our company is in Hong Kong, and in the future, in each country, also in Europe, we are considering having close partnerships, because raw data in each country is not allowed to go abroad. So I think we can have a giant net in the future across different continents – Europe, Asia, and US – because everywhere has suppliers, has manufacturing. So what we can do is have this net using safe data to create more value, and by the value you create, you need to get some investment back to the ESG field, back to your suppliers, for the environmental contributions.

So by using this method, we are not only focusing on product quality anymore, because this is a basic requirement right now in the market. What we can have in the future is the price difference – the tiers of pricing will not be based only on quality anymore. It will be defined also by how great your product is, how much carbon emission you can absorb. This is a new market, and definitely in the future it will be a standard that defines which level your product is – if it's a normal product, a low-carbon product, or even a net-zero product – then they will have different tiers of pricing that people are willing to pay. However, how you can define and verify your product is a net-zero product – that's why we're using our monitoring and verification skills in each factory. We are able to renew the data, because DPP is not fixed numbers, the data should be renewed every batch of the product – the data will be different. However, if you can capture the carbon emissions and the environmental evidence in the DPP, then it will be a powerful and valuable thing that the market, the consumers, are willing to pay for – because they can see from your scan code what you have done for the environment and what you have done in the whole lifecycle of the product. Eventually this is a need that you need to really push from the retailer and brand level, because for manufacturers, they always follow the requirement – but if you give them the decision, the choice, actually they don't know how to do it.

OR: When we think from a European perspective – what is Europe not seeing that China is capable of doing? How is LYNK bridging that gap with Europe?

CS: We do already have a framework, a structure of the whole solution. However, what we are missing – the key solution is in the EU market, people need to be aware. First of all, enterprises need to really be aware of the value of the digital passport. I can understand that a lot of manufacturers – in China it's actually the same situation, even I have buyers, clients in America, they also sell products in Europe – they are anxious. They ask me, "Cindy, why do they ask for a digital passport? I don't understand." This is not an individual case.

So you need to really understand what the digital passport is. Digital passport is a concrete expression driven by the logic requirements of sustainability regulations. It means that by providing to the stakeholders – including investors, producers, consumers, and regulators – with our online data set, you will be able to have the different asset rights, the different dimensions of data, data portals, and data sets, which may include product identification, batch numbers, serial numbers, and also product characteristics – materials, dimensions, weight – and the manufacturer's information. But most importantly, we should also have the environmental data, the green and sustainable data across all stages of the design, production, and logistics. So basically it's a life cycle assessment. By doing that, you can actually show your investors, show your consumers, that you are not only making money by selling product, but you are doing the right thing by controlling the environmental – how's the environmental improvement and also the human rights, because working environmental improvement means you care about people living or working in the factory. This is a good proof for all the investors and consumers to really understand that you are a responsible and sustainable company – because in the world right now we have like 30 trillion US dollars of ESG funds. I need to check, I might have a memory issue with the numbers, but this is a giant amount of investment money, and it needs somewhere to go. You can't invest this money into the oil business, you can't invest it into old real estate companies, because it should go directly into ESG-related funds and companies. So if you can do it right, this money can follow you, this money will follow your company, follow your sustainable supply chains.

So that's why in Europe right now, people or enterprises need to really understand the value of the digital passport – not only as data collecting, and the traceability that makes everybody suffer. Actually, if you have the central database solution, it can solve this problem – in the coming two or three years, it can reduce your product quality control cost, and you will reduce your middleman rate, because by creating a fair competition environment, many retailers and brands were only having one tier of middleman helping them with the data, helping them with actually useful solutions. So by this solution, you can also have more benefit than just a system, than just a data loss. So this is our angle for the European market — it's also because in China's market we are doing the same thing, it's an educational level, you need to really let people understand this is a good thing to do. After that, I think the market is sensitive, and the market is really smart – they can feel, they can sniff the way by themselves. So I think this eventually becomes the trend of the trading market, the new era.

OR: Looking three years ahead – what would a genuinely digital product passport-ready China-Europe textile supply chain look like, and what role will LYNK be playing in that future?

CS: The digital passport effective date for textile should be next year. Within three years ahead, it will be a lucky thing if we can cover 15 to 20% of the textile market. But I have the confidence that even for like 15% of the market, we can already have the excellent suppliers stand out because of the new solutions. And the compliance may also have opportunities for the small factories, small manufacturers – as long as their compliance is qualified, they will all have a chance, not like in the past, if you know your manufacturing is too small, maybe not have a chance to compete. At this stage, we may have more medium-sized suppliers and companies rising up and becoming good suppliers in the market. So for the 15% of the suppliers or the brands – because not many brands or retailers are sensitive enough at this point to get started – but if they get started and have a really good result in the market, not only the consumer market, I believe also in the financial market.

In China we have one term – in the past we have a term meaning "bad money drives out good money." But in the future we may have more and more chance to see the good money really stand out and protect the environment, protect the social compliance and the governance of the company, and help them become better sustainability brands in the world. That is the ultimate goal, I think.

OR: Could you clarify what specific data is collected from these factories? Is it the full scope of everything within a product – dye processes, construction processes – how many tiers down does that go?

CS: At this moment, because DPP is not really finalised on what exactly data they are required, from our supply chain point of view, this data – we need both sides' communication, not only from Europe but we need to also communicate. So I would say from the manufacturing level, for example, mill factories or silk factories or the final clothing factories – different factories definitely need different kinds of data. So the requirements should be different – this part needs to be defined in the product regulations. And in the ESPR, the DPP regulation, it may have the general data collecting terms – for example, basic product data, like serial numbers, batch numbers, the product characteristics like materials, dimensions, weight range, and also the manufacturer's information. And most importantly, the data has to be listed as the life cycle steps. This way, in each section, you will be able to understand what efforts and what environmental data is based on different processes. By this way you can easily get your tier-1 suppliers, tier-2 suppliers, and tier-3 suppliers, because tier-2 and tier-3 scope is really a big headache. So also the carbon emissions from different tiers – by the life cycle processing you will be able to avoid the tier-2, tier-3 problems, because in this channel you can find all supplies already. Each part is kind of like you can consider a map – if you open one, then it will come in with a list, and then you open this one and it will open more of the evidence. So this way it might be more complete.