Get Your UPI · Technical Framework
The international regulatory framework CWA’s Southern Cross System is built to align with. EU Regulation 2023/2411 on GI protection for craft and industrial goods. EU Regulation 2024/1781 on Digital Product Passports. How the Southern Cross Registry connects Australian Makers to both.
EU Regulation 2023/2411
Geographical Indication protection for craft and industrial products — textiles, ceramics, lace, leather goods, woodwork, jewellery, glass, and porcelain — formally entered international trade law on 1 December 2025, under EU Regulation 2023/2411. This extends to craft and manufacturing the same legal recognition previously reserved for food and wine: that place, technique, and local knowledge constitute protectable economic assets.
A Geographical Indication is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities, a reputation, or characteristics that are essentially attributable to that origin. The Southern Cross Registry is structured to provide the verified provenance record — geographic origin, production method, maker identity, and chain of custody — that any GI framework requires.
EU Reg 2023/2411
GI protection for craft and industrial products
Entered into force 1 December 2025. Extends GI protection to goods made entirely by hand, with manual or digital tools, or mechanically where manual work is significant. Eligible categories include textiles, lace, natural stone, woodwork, jewellery, cutlery, glass, porcelain, and leather goods.
In force: 1 December 2025
AU-EU Free Trade Agreement
Australia commits to EU-equivalent GI framework
Concluded 24 March 2026. Awaiting ratification. Commits Australia to establishing an EU-equivalent system of Geographical Indication protection for craft and industrial goods. The Southern Cross Registry provides the verified provenance record on which any such framework would rest.
Concluded: 24 March 2026 · Ratification pending
GI eligibility criteria — EU Reg 2023/2411
To qualify for Geographical Indication protection, a product must meet three criteria. CWA’s Provenance Registration form captures all three at the point of registration:
Strong connection to geographical origin
The place, region, or area in Australia where the product was produced. Captured in the Provenance Registration form as the maker’s registered production location.
CWA captures: State/Territory · Region/Town · Connection to place
Quality, reputation, or characteristic linked to that place
A quality, reputation, or characteristic that is essentially attributable to the geographic origin — regional tradition, local materials, community practice, or place-specific technique.
CWA captures: Place connection declaration · Cultural or regional tradition
At least one stage of production carried out in the specified area
Production method and location — spinning, weaving, firing, forging, finishing. The CWA production method declaration captures which stages are carried out in which location.
CWA captures: Production method · Production location · Stage declaration
EU Regulation 2024/1781
Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 — the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation — entered into force on 18 July 2024. The European Commission’s working plan for 2025–2030 designates textiles and apparel as a first-priority product group, with the Textiles Delegated Act expected for adoption in 2027 and a mandatory compliance deadline of approximately mid-2028.
The Regulation applies to all products placed on the European Union market regardless of country of manufacture. Any Australian practitioner or brand exporting textiles to the EU must provide a compliant Digital Product Passport from mid-2028. The data required must be independently verifiable — not self-declared.
EU Reg 2024/1781 — ESPR
Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation
Requires a Digital Product Passport for textile products sold on the EU market. Data must be independently verified. Applies to all products regardless of manufacturing country. Textiles Delegated Act expected 2027. Compliance deadline mid-2028.
In force: 18 July 2024 · Textiles compliance: mid-2028
The verification distinction
Independent verification is mandatory
GS1 standardises the container for supply chain data. The ESPR requires that container to be filled with independently verified content. An independent certification body — not the maker and not a supply chain standards organisation — must verify the claims. The Southern Cross Registry is that body for Australian Makers.
Source: GS1 Australia / Seamless, 2025 · ACCC guidance, December 2023
The five data fields — EU ESPR Textiles Delegated Act
The EU’s forthcoming Textiles Delegated Act specifies five data fields that every Digital Product Passport for a textile product must contain. CWA’s Provenance Registration captures all five at the point of maker registration — no additional data collection required by the maker for each product.
Maker identity
The verified identity of the practitioner or producer — name, location, registration status. The CWA Unique Provenance Identifier is the permanent, independently verified maker identity credential.
CWA instrument: Unique Provenance Identifier (UPI)
Geographic origin
Where the product was made — state, region, production location. Captured in the Provenance Registration form and embedded in the Registered Provenance Credential for each work or lot.
CWA instrument: Registered Provenance Credential (RPC) — geographic origin field
Production method
How the product was made — technique, process, tools, stages. The CWA production method declaration captures which methods were used and at which stage of the seven-link production chain.
CWA instrument: RPC — production method field · Seven-link chain declaration
Material or fibre content
What the product is made from — fibre type, material origin, composition. Farm Provenance Registration captures fibre at the source. Mill registration captures processing and finishing.
CWA instrument: Farm Provenance Registration · Mill registration · RPC material field
Chain of custody
The full verified chain from raw material to finished product — every link identified, registered, and independently certified by CWA. This is the seven-link Southern Cross Provenance Chain.
CWA instrument: Southern Cross Seven-Link Provenance Chain · RPC chain of custody field
How it works
Makers register once with the Southern Cross Registry. CWA independently verifies the registration and issues the UPI and Registered Provenance Credential. From that point, CWA transmits the verified provenance chain to every downstream DPP platform via secure data connection — without re-entry by the maker.
Maker registers with the Southern Cross Registry
Completes the Provenance Registration form. All five EU data fields captured. Production method, geographic origin, material, chain of custody, maker identity — all recorded.
CWA independently verifies and issues credentials
CWA reviews and independently certifies the registration. Issues the Unique Provenance Identifier (UPI) — permanent, per maker. Issues the Registered Provenance Credential (RPC) — per work or lot.
CWA transmits verified chain to downstream DPP platforms
The Registry feeds planned integrations including Retraced, atma.io, and TrusTrace via secure data connection. The full seven-link chain is transmitted automatically. No re-entry by the maker.
From mid-2028 — DPP readiness as a direct consequence of registration
Registration in the Southern Cross Registry constitutes Digital Product Passport readiness for EU export. The maker’s existing UPI and RPC credentials contain all required data fields. No additional compliance steps needed.
The verification distinction
“GS1 standardises the container for supply chain data. The European Union’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s guidance both require that container to be filled with independently verified content. An independent certification body — not the maker and not a supply chain standards organisation — must verify the claims. The Southern Cross Registry is that body for Australian Makers. Register once. The Registry feeds every downstream platform automatically.”
Australia’s current position
Join CWA as a Practitioner Member and complete your Provenance Registration. All five EU data fields captured. Chain of custody begins. DPP readiness accumulates from this moment.