Goldwin tags upcycled ski-team gear with a digital product passport in a Tokyo pop-up
Goldwin is testing a QR-based digital product passport on seven upcycled pieces made from retired ski-team uniforms at a small Tokyo pop-up, a low-risk pilot of the traceability format European regulators are steering apparel makers toward before it becomes a compliance requirement rather than a marketing story.
Goldwin Inc. said it is piloting a repair-and-resale programme called Circular Action, selling upcycled goods made from retired ski-team uniforms with a QR-code digital product passport attached to each piece, at a pop-up in Tokyo from October 15 to 25, according to a release dated September 30.
The first run collects uniforms worn by Goldwin's Freestyle Skiing Moguls team, repairs and upcycles them into seven products — a big tote (¥24,200), a sacoche (¥8,250), a tote bag (¥7,150), a helmet case (¥8,250), a goggles case (¥7,150), a drawstring pouch (¥7,150) and a pouch (¥4,950) — with proceeds going to athlete support through the Ski Association of Japan, Goldwin said. Each item carries a digital product passport built with CYKLUS and NTT Docomo Business, part of a joint proof-of-concept the companies are running for apparel traceability; scanning the QR code shows the product's history, its regeneration process and care instructions, according to the release. The pop-up runs at GRAVITY KANDA in Tokyo, 11:00 to 19:00 daily, with a talk event on October 14 featuring moguls skier Yukimasa Horiishima, a two-time medallist at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.
Digital product passports are the traceability format European regulators are steering apparel exporters toward requiring within the decade, and Japan has no equivalent mandate yet. Running the pilot on just seven items sold from one pop-up keeps the risk small, but it gives Goldwin a working QR-based system — tying a specific garment to its repair history — before that becomes a compliance question for any Japanese apparel maker selling into Europe rather than only a marketing one at home.