Textile Tracer Assessment
This project involved a detailed analysis and assessment of physical tracer technologies for the textile industry, aimed at improving the traceability of fibres and materials across the supply chain. It evaluated forensic and additive tracers as solutions to verify the origins of materials and strengthen transparency in the textile supply chain.
Problem Statement
The textile industry faces challenges in verifying the origin of fibres and materials across the supply chain, leading to transparency issues and a risk of false sustainability claims. Existing verification systems (site-level, transaction-level) fall short of providing material-level traceability, making it hard to prevent issues like counterfeiting and material substitution.
Executive Summary
The Textile Tracer Assessment provided a first-of-its-kind benchmark for physical tracer technologies in the textile industry. It categorises tracer technologies into forensic and additive tracers and evaluates their application in verifying the origins and authenticity of textile fibres. The report encourages the use of these technologies to enhance supply chain traceability and transparency, aligning with sustainability goals. It identifies use-cases for implementing tracer solutions, such as verifying recycled fibres and ensuring sustainable sourcing.
Goals of the Project
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Benchmark physical tracer technologies for fibre traceability.
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Enable the identification of appropriate tracer technologies based on specific use cases.
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Support the development of supply chain transparency and sustainability through tracer technology adoption.
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Provide guidance on implementing tracer technologies alongside digital traceability systems.
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Facilitate the use of tracers in recycling processes to verify sustainable fibre content.
Project Results
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Analysis of 17 tracer companies, resulting in two primary categories: Forensic Tracers (geographic verification) and Additive Tracers (material-level verification).
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Successful identification of technologies that can be used across different tiers of the textile supply chain.
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Key insights into the operational feasibility of using tracers for synthetic fibres and recycled materials.
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Recommendations for combining physical tracer technologies with digital traceability efforts for comprehensive supply chain transparency.
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Relevant Resources
Assessing Tracer Technologies to Boost Traceability
What is traceability?
Blockchain: Unlocking Transparency and Traceability in The Fashion Supply Chain
A major recent breakthrough in the traceability space occurred with the creation of the Aura Blockchain Consortium – whose members include LVMH, the Prada Group and Richemont (owner of Cartier). The Consortium operates as a non-profit, luxury-specific blockchain technology platform with the goal of developing passports to ensure authenticity and traceability of the brand’s products. The passports offer lifecycle tracking, proof of origin, and protection of intellectual property after being given a unique digital identity based on a non-fungible token (NFT).
Fashion Brands, Ready To Accelerate Your Sustainable Transformation with Digital Traceability?
TrusTrace, a market-leading platform for supply chain transparency and product traceability within the fashion and retail industries, has joined forces with Fashion Revolution and Fashion for Good to accelerate sustainable transformation in the fashion industry with the help of a one-stop guide.
Other Projects
Behind the Break
In early 2024, Fashion for Good and The Microfibre Consortium joined forces on “Behind the Break: Exploring Fibre Fragmentation”, a collaborative project designed to advance the industry’s understanding of fibre fragmentation. Although fibre fragmentation is an issue that spans multiple industries, this project specifically focuses on the textile and fashion value chain, aligning with the missions of Fashion for Good and its partners to drive systemic change towards a more sustainable industry.
Future Forward Factories
The “Future Forward Factories” project, initiated by Fashion for Good, focuses on transforming tier 2 processing in the textile industry through innovative low-impact, decarbonisation solutions. It aims to generate actionable blueprints for factories of the future that combine renewable energy and technology upgradation including mostly dry processing innovations. These blueprints take into account the macro geographical factors that are customised for every product to achieve next-zero facilities with a strong return on investment. The blueprint also takes into account the Just Transition lens to ensure that the transitioning from a conventional to Future Forward Factories is inclusive and people-centric.
World of Waste
World of Waste is an online tool dedicated to uniting industry-wide efforts to develop and disseminate data on textile waste. The platform consolidates data from individual studies by partnering with ecosystem players.
