Most of the top 100 fashion brands have announced targets to use 100% sustainable fibres by 2025, but fewer than 5% of these brands can track their textile inputs to verify the sustainability traits of fibre manufacturers. This explains why supply chain traceability is a top priority for the immediate implementation of the CEO Agenda, part of the Global Fashion Agenda.
In order to meet this challenge, three sustainability pioneers in the textile industry – Lenzing, ARMEDANGELS and Schneider – have joined forces to create an unprecedented level of traceability with TextileGenesis. This pilot project of traceability from the fibre to the retail trade includes 45 clothing styles from different value chains in six countries, each containing viscose fibres from the LENZING ECOVERO brand or wool from the AUTHENTICO brand.
By using the innovative Fibercoins technology for the TextileGenesis platform, Lenzing, ARMEDANGELS and Schneider have issued digital blockchain assets (or tokens) in direct proportion to the physical deliveries of LENZING ECOVERO fibres and AUTHENTICO fibres.
Fibercoins are blockchain based digital-tokens. They are NOT based on any crypto-currency (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc) to eliminate the financial and legal risks, and drive ease of adoption for the business-to-business users. These digital tokens contain unique “fingerprints” and thus an identification mechanism that prevents falsification. A secure, digital chain-of-custody (= chain of care) can thus be offered across the entire textile value chain.
Transparency in the value chain
“At ARMEDANGELS, we believe that sustainability in products starts with transparency. The traceability of raw materials in the textile value chain can be very challenging. Our goal is always to change something – to find the best partners, to cross borders together and to find solutions! The collaboration with TextileGenesis and the implementation of two successful real-time tracking projects based on blockchains have shown that it is not just about sustainability, fraud protection, quantification and accountability, but also about a real return on investment. In addition, the platform offers a global language for tracing supply chains,” says Martin Hoefler, CEO and founder, ARMEDANGELS.
Lenzing AG is leading the way in the digital traceability of the value chain: last year the company presented the first TENCEL brand fibres traceability system optimised for blockchain. “The aim of this pilot project was to demonstrate the scalability for all generations of wood-based cellulose fibres. For this reason we have selected LENZING ECOVERO fibres – the most sustainable viscose fibre – for traceability. We believe that traceability and sustainability are closely related. As market pioneers, we pave the way for the entire industry. The combination of physical markers in LENZING ECOVERO fibres and the traceability of the supply chain using TextileGenesis creates the industry’s most comprehensive mechanism for securing fibre brands. Customers can be sure that they are actually receiving sustainable fibres from Lenzing AG when they pay for them,” says Robert van de Kerkhof, CCO and member of the Lenzing Executive Board. In Q4 2020, Lenzing will introduce TextileGenesis worldwide for the fibre portfolio of the TENCEL and LENZING ECOVERO brands.
The Schneider Group – the leading manufacturer of wool tops – guarantees with the AUTHENTICO program (a sustainable program for wool with great commitment by sheep farmers in Australia, New Zealand and Argentina) full traceability of wool from the farm to the retail trade.
“Schneider is a leading manufacturer of organic wool parts. With this offering of climate-neutral wool, the company is paving the way for an unprecedented level of traceability in the wool industry. Our AUTHENTICO wool program is unique because of the commitment of the breeders. We want to offer brands the opportunity to view the supply chain for AUTHENTICO wool completely and transparently. The pilot projects with TextileGenesis demonstrate the scalability of the technology throughout the supply chain and create an innovative way of offering brands and consumers complete security,” says Jeffrey Losekoot, CEO, Schneider Group.
TextileGenesis is the market-leading traceability platform for the fashion industry. It developed the Fibercoins technology and applied for a patent. This is a global network of sustainable fibre manufacturers, leading brands and important industry organizations, which aims to promote the transparency of traceability from fiber to retail. “Fashion & Textile is one of the most fragmented industries, which leads to very opaque supply chains. Right from the start, our focus was on building a precisely scalable platform for the traceability of fibres for the industry. We believe that the majority of the top 100 brands will only be sourcing sustainable, traceable textile raw materials in five years’ time,” says Amit Gautam, CEO and founder, TextileGenesis.
