TrusTrace, Fashion
Revolution and Fashion for
Good have collaborated to launch The
Traceability Playbook — a comprehensive, open-source guide that offers an
in-depth analysis of the evolving market dynamics and incoming legislation
making supply chain traceability a business
imperative.
The Playbook was driven by a collective commitment to accelerating sustainable
transformation in the fashion industry, through cross-industry collaboration and
knowledge sharing.
“We’re at an inflection point as an industry, where sustainability is evolving
from a ‘nice-to-have’ to a ‘must-have’ business imperative; a point at which
one’s ‘green line’ is becoming every bit as important as one’s bottom line,”
says TrusTrace co-founder and CEO Shameek Ghosh. “However, with this
evolution comes the need for knowledge – on how to most effectively manage this
sustainable transformation – which is why we’ve teamed up with Fashion
Revolution and Fashion for Good to develop this Traceability Playbook. Together,
with some of the most knowledgeable, best-informed minds in the industry, we’ve
created a resource for the fashion industry that will significantly support
sustainable transformation.”
Founded in 2016, TrusTrace has become a market-leading platform for supply
chain transparency and
traceability
at scale within fashion and retail. Built on AI and blockchain, the platform
supports brands with risk management, compliance, product claims, footprint
calculations and the ability to confidently and easily share data about product
origin and impact; it is being used by more than 40 apparel brands — including
adidas, Decathlon, Filippa K, Fjällräven,
Houdini
and Icebug.
The start of 2022 has seen TrusTrace experience a 350 percent YoY increase in
brand requests for traceability guidance and support, inspiring the platform to
join forces with advocacy organization Fashion Revolution and global innovation
platform Fashion for
Good, to develop the
Traceability Playbook.
Transforming fashion through materials innovation
Join us as leaders from Crocs, Hilos, Marchon Eyewear, Planet FWD and Target discuss real-world examples, practical strategies, and supply chain considerations for developing eco-friendly clothing, shoes, and accessories that minimize waste and protect the planet — Tuesday, Oct. 15, at SB'24 San Diego.
The collaborators have worked together to combine knowledge and expertise,
developing this go-to manual that will help brands understand the basics of
achieving supply chain traceability, from the key players operating within the
vast supply chain network, to the digital trends and legislation driving
traceability forward.
Written by sustainable fashion journalist Megan
Doyle,
the Playbook provides both up-to-date insights and concrete examples of good
practice — including case studies from companies such as Balenciaga,
Gucci,
adidas and more; as well as insights from industry leaders including Amina
Razvi from the Sustainable Apparel Coalition; Paul Foulkes-Arellano
from Circuthon; and Baptiste Carriere-Pradal from Policy Hub.
Ultimately, the guide aims to support brands in understanding the business case
for traceability while offering a step-by-step roadmap to achieve it.
“The Rana Plaza
tragedy
inspired the creation of Fashion Revolution and the #WhoMadeMyClothes
campaign,
understanding that a lack of transparency costs lives and in order to achieve
accountability, greater visibility is needed to drive industry transformation,”
says Liv Simpliciano, Policy & Research Manager at Fashion Revolution. “As
part of this work, we are pleased to highlight practical case studies of brands’
disclosure on how they are addressing some of the industry’s greatest challenges
across overconsumption, overproduction, decent work, circularity and carbon
emissions. Transparency is the starting point — not the end in itself. The
Traceability Playbook is a resource democratizing access to knowledge from
leaders in the industry and importantly, exposes where greater traceability and
transparency are needed to catalyze change.”
Katrin Ley, Managing Director at Fashion for Good, adds: “Improved
traceability and data integrity are the bedrock of a circular supply chain
enabling and incentivizing sustainable enhancements. With the growing importance
of an impact-driven supply chain, Fashion for Good is excited to contribute to
an open-source playbook for the industry that promotes a collaborative approach
of knowledge sharing, implementation and driving the change that is needed to
transform the industry for the better."
Available to download from the TrusTrace website, the guide covers key topics
such as the business case for traceability and transparency, the need for
standardization and decentralization of data and the key traceability trends
driving the market. The guide also includes a ‘material school’ chapter,
offering guidance on the impact of different materials; the importance of
supplier education and technology innovation to drive more sustainable
production practices; and the business drivers of traceability — including laws
and regulations, communicating product-specific impact
data
and product-specific
claims.
To learn more, interested brands can then take the traceability test to identify
how to best get started or progress their traceability journey.
The Traceability Playbook is also a key education tool for the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Sustainability
Pledge
that TrusTrace has submitted today, aimed at accelerating sustainable
transformation through supply chain traceability at scale. The pledge commits to
three key actions:
-
Educating the fashion industry on how to best leverage technology in the
form of supply chain traceability to deliver on SDG and ESG goals
-
Scaling traceability in the industry by expanding the number of brands they
support in building a data foundation, to enable the industry to make
informed decisions to improve ESG performance.
-
Accelerating positive results through collaboration and integration with
other sustainability solution providers.
Maria Teresa Pisani, Economic Affairs Officer and Project Lead at UNECE,
comments: “Behind the clothes we wear, there are women and men that need to be
respected; and deserts, forests and oceans that need to be protected.
Traceability and transparency are key to ensure that human rights and
environmental risks are properly identified and addressed along global and
complex value chains. It is a starting point to give a face and a voice to
vulnerable actors in this industry, and a right move towards responsible choices
and circular business models that will drive wrong patterns ‘out of fashion.’ We
are delighted to welcome TrusTrace in our UNECE Sustainability Pledge community,
as this is another step forward to accelerate transformation at scale, for the
sustainable clothing industry of the future.”
The Traceability Playbook will be launched today during a side event of Global
Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition. Visit
TrusTrace.com to download your copy.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Jun 7, 2022 7am EDT / 4am PDT / 12pm BST / 1pm CEST