Tracking reusable packaging means choosing an identification technology. Three options currently coexist in the sector, with very different logics, costs and regulatory horizons. Here is a practical comparison to guide that choice.
Three technologies, three different logics
Before comparing their technical features, it helps to be clear about what each technology actually solves. The QR code meets a need for simple, low-cost tracking. RFID is aimed more at large-scale automation, with no action required from the customer. The digital product passport, finally, stems from an upcoming European regulatory obligation whose precise terms for packaging have not yet been settled.
The QR code, the sector's current standard
The QR code is currently the most widespread technology among e-commerce packaging reuse players. RE-ZIP uses it so that customers scan their packaging in an app when they return it, which triggers routing to the warehouse and the allocation of a commercial reward. Other solutions on the market rely on the same principle: a unique QR code per parcel, linked to an app that organizes drop-off in a mailbox.
The QR code's advantage lies in its near-zero cost (a simple print) and its immediate compatibility with any smartphone, with no dedicated reading equipment. Its main limit is that it depends on a voluntary action by the customer at each stage of the cycle. If the customer does not scan, or does not download the app, the data is simply never generated. This weak point weighs directly on the reliability of the measured return rate.
RFID, the option for automated tracking
RFID relies on an electronic tag read automatically by a reader, with no action from the customer. This automatic reading makes it a relevant option for loops where packaging passes through equipped logistics points: receiving docks, sorting centers, warehouses. A market report mentions a fast-food use case where RFID reportedly achieved inventory accuracy close to 99%, a figure to treat as an industry order of magnitude rather than independently verified data.
The trade-off with RFID is cost. The tag itself is more expensive than a printed QR code and, above all, it requires readers installed at every checkpoint where the information needs to be captured. For packaging that mainly passes through the end customer's home, such as an e-commerce parcel, this reading infrastructure does not naturally exist. RFID is therefore better suited to closed B2B loops (between warehouses, between industrial sites) than to B2C loops where the end customer is the last link before the return.
The digital product passport, the regulatory horizon
For packaging, the digital product passport (DPP) falls under a European framework that is still being built. Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR), which entered into force in February 2025 and has applied generally since 12 August 2026, provides for a digital data carrier on packaging, in practice a QR code, to convey information on material composition, recyclability and recycled content. Depending on how the text is read, this data carrier obligation would apply from 12 August 2028, with implementing acts still to specify the exact technical arrangements.
The digital product passport as such falls under a separate text, Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 (ESPR), which does not necessarily create a separate DPP specific to packaging, but anticipates interoperability with the systems already in place. In practice, the physical carrier of this passport will probably be the same QR code already used for logistics tracking, enriched with additional regulatory data. These article numbers vary, however, from one source to another, so it is worth checking the official text in the Official Journal of the European Union before making any compliance decision.
How to choose based on volume and maturity
For a company starting a reuse system or operating at moderate volume, the QR code remains the most sensible entry point: low marginal cost, fast deployment, and suited to consumer use. The reliability limit tied to customer action can be offset by a clear incentive, such as a commercial reward for returning the packaging.
For a company already operating at large scale, with flows that pass through equipped logistics infrastructure, RFID becomes relevant to reduce dependence on end-customer behavior and make the data reliable automatically. It is an investment that makes sense once volumes are high enough to amortize the cost of tags and readers.
The digital product passport, on the other hand, is not yet a choice to make today in the strict sense. It is a deadline to prepare for, by building now a traceability system (QR code or RFID) structured enough to take on, in time, the additional data fields the European regulation will require.
The role of GS1 identifiers, whatever the technology
Whether it is a QR code or an RFID chip, the identifier encoded behind it should follow a recognized standard rather than a proprietary format. GS1 offers the GRAI (Global Returnable Asset Identifier), designed specifically for reusable assets such as pallets, crates or drums, and able to identify packaging by type or unit by unit. Built on a GS1 company prefix, an asset number and a serial number, this standard keeps the identifier readable and interoperable for all partners in the same logistics flow. GS1 France puts this point forward with Le Pack't, its alliance to bring commercial and industrial packaging reuse players together around a common traceability foundation. MOBIUSpack is one of the nineteen initial players committed to this alliance, alongside the approved eco-organizations and sixteen operators in the sector.
What the regulatory timetable requires
Keep three dates in mind. The European packaging regulation has applied generally since 12 August 2026. The French extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme for commercial and industrial packaging becomes operational on 1 January 2027 (postponed from the 1 July 2026 date originally planned) for around 1.7 million companies. The digital data carrier on packaging is expected by 12 August 2028, subject to confirmation by the forthcoming implementing acts.
Between these deadlines, the safest technology choice is the one that can evolve: a QR code structured around a standardized GS1 identifier can absorb, without rebuilding everything, the additional data the digital product passport will require once its scope is finally set.
Sources
- PPWR Connect, digital product passport and PPWR timetable
- Tilkal, the key points of the PPWR regulation
- Fachpack, PPWR and the digital product passport
- circulareconomy.europa.eu, RE-ZIP profile (how the QR code works)
- GS1 Benelux, Global Returnable Asset Identifier (GRAI)
- presseagence.fr, GS1 France launches Le Pack't for reuse traceability
- Supply Chain Magazine, GS1 France brings together Le Pack't for more traceability, and therefore more reuse (list of the 19 initial members, including MOBIUSpack)
- FFB (French Building Federation), commercial and industrial packaging EPR, postponement to 1 January 2027 confirmed
- GMInsights, returnable packaging market (use of RFID)