My supplier does not provide the data — what can I do?

What you concretely must do

What is expected of you

A mattress manufacturer that compiles the product passport is responsible for its completeness and accuracy under Article 27 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781). This responsibility does not change if a supplier does not provide, provides late, or provides incomplete data. At the same time, Article 38 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) also places a role on actors in the supply chain — including the supplier of foam, springs, textiles or other components — in making available the information needed for the passport. What this means in practice for a company with 10 to 100 employees breaks down into a few parts.

The manufacturer remains accountable, even with an unresponsive supplier

A manufacturer that places mattresses on the market cannot hide behind a supplier who does not respond. This is not a matter of anger or unwillingness on the part of a supervisor, but a consequence of how responsibility is established in Article 27 of the ESPR: it lies with whoever places the product on the market. For a medium-sized company, this means that missing data is a problem that requires action, and not something whose consequences automatically fall to the supplier.

Suppliers have a role of their own

Article 38 of the ESPR makes clear that actors in the supply chain are involved in making product information available. This gives a manufacturer a basis to request data, and it also gives the request weight: it is not just a request out of goodwill, but something that fits within how the chain is set up in the regulation. In practical terms, this means that a request for data is best made specific and in writing — which data, and for what purpose. Which data must I request from my mattress supplier? describes what such a request should be about.

The obligation exists regardless of how the contract is drawn up

Whether a supplier provides data depends in practice heavily on what has been agreed on this matter. A company that only looks at what is contractually established after data fails to arrive often concludes that little is on paper. This is not an obligation from the ESPR itself, but rather a practical condition to make the obligation under Article 27 feasible. How do I document the supply of passport data in my purchasing contract? goes into what such an agreement might look like.

Where things go wrong in practice

The supplier responds slowly or not at all. A request for material data disappears in the inbox of a sales department that is not used to this kind of request, and there is no response. Without an established agreement on delivery periods, there is little to fall back on.

The supplier provides data, but incomplete. A composition of the foam arrives, but nothing about the origin of the springs or the types of adhesive used. The manufacturer discovers the gaps only when compiling the passport, as the deadline is already approaching.

The supplier refuses to share data for competitive reasons. Especially with specific foam compositions or coatings, there is a fear that competitors will gain insight into the recipe through the passport. This is a real tension, and it is one of the reasons why can I arrange an NDA with my supplier regarding the data for the passport is a question that comes up more often than you might think.

The data arrives, but no one checks it. A manufacturer assumed that the supplier had provided the correct material codes, and only in a sample check did it turn out that an incorrect raw material code had been passed on. Without a control step, something like this only comes to light late.

The supplier changes, and the old data disappears. A mattress manufacturer switches foam suppliers because the price or delivery time is better, but the data from the previous supplier is not archived anywhere. The passport of previously supplied mattresses is thus suddenly missing support.

What you can record

• An overview of which data is needed per component (foam, springs, textiles, coatings), so that a request to the supplier is concrete and complete in one go.
• A written request with a response deadline, instead of a verbal or loose email inquiry without follow-up.
• A contractual provision on delivering product passport data, included in the purchase contract or as an annex thereto — see how do I record the delivery of product passport data in my purchase contract.
• A documented control step for incoming data, so that errors or gaps are identified before the product passport is compiled — this aligns with how do I check whether my supplier's data are correct.
• An archive per supplier and per delivery, so that data do not disappear when a supplier changes. This is directly relevant if a company is considering changing suppliers; see does the product passport remain accurate if I switch to a different mattress material supplier.
• A confidentiality agreement, if a supplier is reluctant due to confidential recipe or composition, so that data are shared without the supplier feeling that competition-sensitive information is being disclosed.
• A clear assignment of data per component, especially when foam and suspension come from different suppliers — this prevents duplicate or conflicting information in a single product passport, see how do I combine data from different foam and spring suppliers in one passport.

A supplier that delivers nothing is therefore not merely a practical inconvenience; it is a situation in which responsibility for the product passport remains with the manufacturer, while the basis for it lies with another party. Whoever establishes in advance what is needed, when, and what happens if it fails to arrive, is significantly better positioned than someone who discovers this only when the data should already have been received.