who is responsible for the passport if I have mattresses made under my own brand
With private label, you are the manufacturer yourself
Whoever has a mattress made under their own brand name and places it on the market is considered a manufacturer under the ESPR as a rule — not a distributor or intermediary. The party that actually assembles the mattress often does so on behalf of someone else and remains in the background; the brand owner is the one who bears responsibility to the outside world. This means that the brand owner is in principle also the one who must ensure that a digital product passport is created, with correct data on materials, composition and origin.
For whom this applies, and what it concerns
This applies to the situation where a company has a mattress produced by an external party (in the EU or outside it), but places it on the market under its own brand name or trade name. According to Article 27 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781), whoever has a product manufactured under their own name or brand and places it on the market is regarded as a manufacturer. That is a different position from that of a shop that purchases ready-made mattresses from a well-known brand and resells them — the latter situation is more a matter of distribution, with its own obligations that for distributors and traders apply. The distinction therefore does not turn on who physically makes the mattress, but on whose name and brand the product reaches the customer under.
It is also important to note where this does not apply: if the actual producer is outside the EU and the brand is not that of the EU party, this may be a case of an importer role rather than a manufacturer role, with a slightly different set of obligations. Doubts about this often arise with companies that both purchase and sell under their own name; anyone who wants to clarify this for their own situation can follow the question am I an importer or a manufacturer under the ESPR further.
When this will apply
A fixed date is not yet set. The ESPR itself is the framework regulation; the concrete obligation for mattresses to have a digital product passport comes via a product-specific delegated act, which according to the European Commission's work plan for 2025-2030 is expected in 2028. Until that delegated act is in place and enters into force, there is no legal passport obligation for mattresses. As soon as the date is fixed, it will be stated here. Until then, nothing changes in the logic above from the point of view of "who is responsible" — because that already follows from the general manufacturer definition in the ESPR, regardless of the exact entry date for mattresses.
What this means for the private label seller
The first step is to determine whether your own position is indeed that of a manufacturer: if the mattress is sold under your own brand or trade name, this is as a rule the case, even if production is completely outsourced. After that, it is important to request the underlying data from the party that actually makes the mattress — the supplier or contract manufacturer — materials, composition, filling, any chemical substances, and origin. This data is needed to compile the passport, and the brand owner is responsible for ensuring that it is complete and correct, even if the supplier has provided it.
A third step is to document this arrangement in the contract with the supplier: who supplies what data, in what form, and what happens if the foam or filling changes later. The latter is not a minor matter — a change in composition can have implications for the passport, and the question whether the passport must be updated if foam or filling changes often comes up faster with private label than anticipated, because suppliers sometimes switch raw materials without notice. If you arrange this in advance with the manufacturing partner, you prevent the passport from no longer matching the actual product afterwards.
If you are unsure whether your role as brand owner precisely matches what the ESPR understands by manufacturer, you will find a more detailed explanation of obligations for own brands on the page about selling under your own brand. And for those wondering what is practically at stake if this is not in order, the page about what happens if nothing is done provides an overview of the consequences in broad terms.
The legal basis: Article 27 and Article 29 of the ESPR
The manufacturer role in private label follows from Article 27 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781), which describes the obligations of manufacturers and covers the situation in which a product is manufactured and marketed under its own name or brand. If instead you import products from a manufacturer established outside the EU without putting your own brand on them, you fall more under Article 29 of the ESPR, which governs the obligations of importers. The difference between these two articles determines which obligations apply precisely, and that difference is relevant in private label because production often takes place outside the EU while the brand belongs to an EU party.
What to do now
A good first step is to check under which brand the mattress is sold and where actual production takes place, in order to determine whether your own role is that of manufacturer or importer. After that, it is advisable to request material and composition data from your supplier and document how changes in these are communicated, so that the passport can be built directly with the correct data once it becomes mandatory.
Where this is based on
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), Article 27 (obligations of manufacturers)
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), Article 29 (obligations of importers)
The regulation itself is on EUR-Lex. We provide references per statement; you do not have to take our word for it.
What you concretely must do
A mattress that is produced elsewhere and sold under your own brand name is a well-known model in the industry. The factory manufactures, you sell under your own name. For the digital product passport, that division of roles changes something fundamental: whoever puts the brand on the mattress is the one who, according to the ESPR, bears the obligations of a manufacturer — not the party that actually produced the mattress.
What is expected of you
You are considered a manufacturer, even if you do not produce yourself
Article 27 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) describes the obligations of manufacturers. Whoever has a product sold under his own name or brand falls under that definition — the factory that actually assembles the mattress is less relevant in law than the one whose brand is on it. This distinction is described in more detail on Am I an importer or manufacturer according to the ESPR?. For a company of 10 to 100 employees, this means in practice: the responsibility for the passport lies with the company that the customer sees as the producer, even if there is no production line on its own premises.
You must ensure that the correct data is there — not analyze the filling yourself
The obligation to ensure that a product passport is present, correct and up to date lies with the party that is considered the manufacturer. That is a different obligation from collecting all technical data yourself. In practice, this means that the company that carries the brand is responsible for the end result — the passport that the consumer or hotel procurement ultimately sees via the QR code — while the source of the source data (foam composition, flame retardants, origin of the filling) usually lies with the production partner. If you do not distinguish between these two things, you quickly assume that "the factory will take care of this anyway".
You must make agreements about who provides which data
Because the manufacturing partner knows the technical composition and the brand-owning company bears the responsibility, a dependency arises that must be documented. For a company of this size, this usually means no separate legal department, but rather a concrete agreement in the purchase contract: which data does the producer provide, in what form, and when. Without that agreement, there is a risk that nobody feels responsible at the moment the passport actually has to be assembled.
You must know whether your producer is located within or outside the EU
The role of the production partner differs depending on whether it is established within or outside the EU. When production takes place outside the EU, an additional layer of obligations applies, as described in Article 29 of the ESPR (Regulation (EU) 2024/1781) on importers — that party must ensure, among other things, that the passport is already present before the product reaches the EU market. If you import yourself while production is outside the EU, you may carry both manufacturer and importer obligations. This scenario is further detailed on My manufacturer is outside the European Union — who arranges the product passport then?.
Where things go wrong in practice
The factory thinks the brand owner will handle it, the brand owner thinks the factory will handle it. This is the most common situation: both parties assume the other is responsible, until the moment an actual passport is needed and no one has the data ready.
The purchase contract says nothing about the product passport. Many existing contracts with production partners were written before the passport became an issue. Price, delivery time and quality requirements are included, but who supplies which product data is missing.
Multiple private label customers at one factory, each needing different passports. A manufacturer that makes the same basic mattress for multiple brands with small variations must be able to substantiate a separate passport per brand. If the factory does not register this per customer, it becomes difficult to trace which composition belongs to which brand.
Changes in composition are not communicated to the brand owner. A manufacturer adjusts the foam composition or filling without notifying the party that carries the passport to the outside. What this means for an existing passport is described on do I need to update the product passport if I change the foam or filling.
Unclear responsibility for incorrect data. If the passport contains incorrect information originating from the production partner, the question of who is accountable for it remains a recurring point of ambiguity between brand owner and manufacturer. See who is liable if there is incorrect information in the product passport of a mattress.
What you can record
- An amendment to the purchase contract stating which product data the manufacturer supplies, in what format and at what point in the production process.
- A contact point at the manufacturer responsible for communicating changes in composition, materials or origin.
- An overview per product variant — especially relevant if one factory serves multiple brands — so it is clear which composition belongs to which passport.
- An agreement on notification deadlines for changes, so that an adjustment in foam or filling is not only known to the brand owner months later.
- Documentation of the manufacturer's status (within or outside the EU) because this determines whether, in addition to manufacturer obligations, importer obligations also apply.
- A file with the underlying supporting documents from the manufacturer, even if the passport itself is compiled and hosted by or via matrapas.eu.
More on the broader role distribution in private label can be found on I sell mattresses under my own brand — what obligations do I have?, and a general overview of who in the chain carries which obligation can be found on Who is responsible for the product passport for mattresses?.
This is not legal advice. This page provides general information about the legislation this platform concerns. We do not know your situation. If you are in doubt about your own case, consult a lawyer or the competent supervisory authority.
Written with AI based on the sources above, reviewed by a human on 2026-09-05. Is something not correct? Let us know — corrections are given priority.