TRANSPARENCY AND TRACEABILITY

Transparency and traceability involve making information accessible to understand how fibres and materials are sourced, processed, and produced throughout the supply chain. Enhancing supplier transparency and material traceability is essential for making more sustainable decisions, helping to reduce the environmental and social impacts of the textile industry. Traceability is the ability to track each component of a garment back to its origin, offering a clear view of the supply chain and empowering the industry to improve sustainability practices and governance. Transparency means openly sharing where, when, and how a garment was created across every stage of the fashion value chain—from sourcing raw materials to reaching the retail store.

What’s the challenge?

The fashion supply chain is complex, and achieving full traceability is challenging. However, transparency and traceability are essential steps toward a more sustainable industry and should be at the heart of any brand or retailer’s sustainability strategy. As consumers increasingly demand to know the origins of their clothing and the conditions in which they were made, and as governments implement policies to regulate sustainability claims, the need for transparency will only intensify.

To effectively reduce carbon emissions, water usage, and textile waste, it’s crucial to first measure these impacts. Traceability—and the transparency it provides—is the essential driver that empowers supply chain partners to meet their science-based emissions targets and advance the industry’s environmental goals.

Solutions are split into digital platforms and physical tracers:

Digital Platforms are Blockchain or Cloud-based digital platforms that consolidate supply chain data, provide supply chain mapping and visualisation tools, and perform material and product traceability.

Physical Tracers are tracer technologies that supplement existing site-level and transaction-level verification and have the capability to provide physical/material validation alongside the chain of custody, allowing manufacturers and brands to more confidently verify sustainable product claims. 

DIGITAL PLATFORMS

Supply Chain Mapping

Supply chain mapping involves gathering, organising, and understanding the intricate network of suppliers and logistics that enable products to reach customers. In the fashion industry, this process enhances transparency and traceability, supporting sustainability efforts by identifying areas for improvement and innovation.

Product Traceability

Product traceability involves tracking when, where, and how each component of a garment is produced, enabling the entire supply chain to be traced from source to consumer. This transparency enhances visibility and supports improved sustainability governance within the fashion industry.

Digital Product Passports

A Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a digital record providing comprehensive product information, including materials, origins, production processes, and environmental impact. It promotes transparency and traceability, enabling sustainable choices and circularity. DPPs empower stakeholders across the value chain to make informed decisions, supporting sustainability goals in the fashion industry.

Waste Mapping

Waste mapping involves identifying and analysing the sources, types, and volumes of waste within a specific area or industry. Tools like “World of Waste” map global textile waste hotspots, providing data on waste volume, composition, and type to support recyclers and innovators.

Impact Tracking

Impact tracking involves measuring and analysing the effects of initiatives to assess their success and inform future strategies. In the fashion industry, it evaluates the environmental and social outcomes of sustainable practices, guiding improvements and fostering transparency.

C2C & B2B Engagement

C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer) engagement involves interactions where consumers directly exchange goods, services, or information with each other, often facilitated by a platform that connects individuals.

B2B (Business-to-Business) engagement is similar but focuses more on exchanging data, information or resources between businesses.

PHYSICAL TRACERS

Forensic Tracers

Forensic tracers analyse the unique micro-particle composition of natural fibres, such as cotton and wool, to verify their geographic origin without adding substances during production. This method enhances supply chain transparency by confirming the authenticity of raw materials.

Additive Tracers

Additive tracers are substances applied to textile fibres or materials—via sprays, inks, or pigments—to enable end-to-end traceability throughout the supply chain. They facilitate the detection and verification of a product’s origin and journey, enhancing transparency in the fashion industry.

SOCIAL INNOVATION

Worker Empowerment

Worker empowerment in transparency and traceability innovations involves leveraging technology to enhance supply chain visibility, ensuring fair labor practices, and enabling workers to access information about their rights and working conditions. This approach promotes ethical standards and improves labor conditions across the fashion industry.

What do we hope to achieve by working in this area?

Fashion for Good is dedicated to empowering brands, manufacturers, and innovators on their journey to establish comprehensive traceability across the supply chain. As regulatory pressures on the industry grow, our bold ambition is to lead the way in creating a more transparent, accountable, and interconnected fashion ecosystem. By driving collaboration, we aim to identify opportunities for greater alignment within the industry and foster enhanced interoperability among diverse supply chain solutions.

How do we address this area?

Fashion for Good has conducted extensive mapping of the landscape, gaining a thorough understanding of both digital platforms and physical tracers available in the market. We align these solutions with emerging policies and directives, such as the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in the U.S. and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive Proposal (CSDDD) in the EU, ensuring that brands and manufacturers can meet regulatory and compliance demands effectively.

Where beneficial, Fashion for Good facilitates pilot programmes with our brand and manufacturing partners to validate traceability solutions. These pilots are tailored to address specific challenges in the supply chain, either through individual projects or collaborative consortia that test innovations across multiple suppliers and regions. One notable example is our Textile Tracer Assessment project, conducted in partnership with Textile Exchange, which focuses on standardising data for recycled textiles to improve traceability and support sustainable practices.

The solutions in our portfolio have now got over 65,000 suppliers onboarded to their platforms, representing the depth of their solutions at scale.

Relevant Innovators

Relevant Resources

Explore tools, news, reports, and insights at the forefront of creating a positive future for the fashion industry.

FAQ's

What’s the difference between transparency and traceability in fashion?

  • Traceability refers to the ability to track each component (fibre, material, process) of a garment back to its origin, enabling a full chain of custody.
  • Transparency means openly sharing the “where, when, how” of each stage of production, from raw material sourcing through manufacturing to retail, across the value chain.

Why are transparency and traceability essential for sustainable fashion?

  • They provide the foundational visibility needed to measure, manage, and reduce environmental and social impacts across the supply chain.
  • As consumers demand more accountability and regulations tighten, brands must be able to verify claims and comply with policies.

What technologies enable traceability?

  • Digital platforms such as blockchain or cloud-based systems support supply chain mapping, data visualisation, and verification of material flows.
  • Physical tracers, including forensic or additive tracer technologies, validate the material itself (e.g. micro‑particle signatures, embedded markers) to strengthen proof of origin.

How do digital product passports (DPPs) fit into this?

A Digital Product Passport is a digital record carrying key information (materials, origin, processes, environmental impact) about a product. It enables interoperability, transparency, and supports circular business models. 

What are the main barriers to implementing full traceability?

  • Complexity of global, multi-tiered supply chains with many informal or opaque nodes
  • Fragmented data systems and lack of interoperability between platforms
  • Cost and technical risk, especially for smaller suppliers and manufacturers
  • Ensuring data integrity, verification, and preventing fraud or greenwashing

How do traceability innovations account for social dimensions (e.g. labor, worker rights)?

Transparency tools can include social data (worker conditions, wages, certifications), and some innovations embed worker empowerment mechanisms so that workers can access information and feedback channels.

What are good first steps for brands or manufacturers wanting to improve traceability?

  • Start mapping the supply chain (tiers, geographies, material flows)
  • Pilot a digital traceability system and/or tracer technology in a sub‑segment
  • Demand interoperability and standards alignment (so your traceability data can interact with others)
  • Engage suppliers, provide capacity support, ensure data governance
  • Align with emerging regulatory requirements (e.g. EU corporate due diligence)

What’s the potential business value of transparency & traceability?

  • Strengthened brand trust and consumer confidence
  • Compliance readiness for regulation and reducing litigation risk
  • Enabling circular business models (reuse, repair, resale)
  • Improved supply chain risk management, resilience, and sourcing decisions