What Is the Digital Passport Inside Your Medicus Scrub Cap?

A digital passport is a web page that belongs to one cap. Sewn inside every Medicus cap made since June 2026 is a small label with a QR code and an 8-character code. Scan it with your phone camera and the cap's passport opens: what it is, what it's made of, how to wash it, the estimated CO2 it saves against disposables, and a record of its life from the day we made it. No app. No account. One scan.

Last updated: 6 September 2026

Where to find it

Look inside the cap for the printed label. The QR code is on it, with the cap's code printed underneath. If your camera won't read the QR, type the code into your browser after bulk.medicuscaps.com/c/ and the same page opens. That code is the cap's identity for life. It never changes, so there is nothing to register and nothing to renew.

What you see before you claim it

Anyone who scans a cap sees the same public page. It shows the style, the size, the colour or pattern, the fabric composition, "Made in Sheffield, UK" and the date the cap was made. If the cap is embroidered, the text is listed too (it's stitched on the outside, so it's no secret). Options chosen at the time of ordering appear under the cap details: the lining, the embroidery font, the thread colour, where the text sits. Then the care guide, with the wash temperature for each setting (60°C for NHS workwear, 30°C where there's no clinical use, and a 90°C ceiling) plus tumble dry, iron and bleach guidance. The instructions stay with the cap instead of on a label that fades.

Two more things sit on the public page. A small counter shows how many times the QR has been scanned. And a CO2 estimator lets anyone put in how many disposable caps they'd otherwise use per shift and see a rough, estimate-only figure for what a reusable cap saves in a year. How that estimate is calculated has its own guide, because the caveats matter.

What claiming adds

Tap Claim this cap, enter the email address you ordered with, and the cap is yours in about ten seconds. Claiming is free and it doesn't sign you up to anything. It unlocks the parts of the passport that only make sense for the person wearing the cap: a wash log you tick off after each wash, a wash plan (your temperature and how you dry it), a photo check-in every three months to see how the cap wears, a star rating that only we see, a timeline of every milestone, an "If found, please return to" message for a lost cap, and the option to retire the cap when it's done. You also choose which sections your passport shows. Claiming your cap walks through it step by step.

What stays private

The passport is public by design, so we're careful about what it shows. If the cap was made for a named person, scanners see an initial and surname, never the full name and never an email address. Your department and any fit measurements you gave us at checkout show only to you once you've claimed. Uploaded logo files and order notes never leave our system. Claiming binds the cap to your email and nothing else. We don't email you unless you ask us to.

Why a cap needs a passport

A reusable cap only beats a disposable one if it's used, washed and kept in service for years. The passport makes that visible one cap at a time, instead of as a claim on a website. It's also where the rules are heading. The EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation will require a Digital Product Passport on textiles, with the textile rules expected from 2027. Every Medicus cap already has one, built to be read by a nurse at the end of a night shift as easily as by an auditor.

At the end of the cap's life

When a cap is worn out, anyone holding it can mark it as recycled on the passport. That retires the cap and records its last chapter. Snip off any embroidery or vinyl first, because it carries your name, then the cotton can go to textile recycling. The passport keeps the wash log and photos for your records and shows the days in service, the washes logged and the estimated CO2 saved over the cap's life.

Older caps

Caps made before the passport launched in June 2026 don't carry the label, so there's no passport to scan. If you'd like one on a cap you already own, email support@medicuscaps.com and we'll help you get set up.

The short version

• Scan the QR inside the cap, or type the 8-character code after bulk.medicuscaps.com/c/ in your browser.
• The public page shows style, size, fabric, where and when the cap was made, the options you chose, the care guide, a scan count and a CO2 estimator.
• Claim it with your order email to log washes, add photos, set a lost-cap message and choose what the passport shows.
• Names are masked, personal details show only to the owner, and we don't email you unless you ask.

More help

Ready to set yours up? Read how to claim your cap. Bought caps for a team? See passports for teams. For washing, drying and storage the care guide has the full detail, and the scrub cap FAQs cover the rest.