Dubai-based Arise IIP, developer and operator of world-class industrial ecosystems in Africa, has announced a new pilot programme enabling spinner-to-garment traceability for Arise IIP’s highly anticipated Republic of Benin spinning facilities at the Glo-Djigbe Industrial Zone (GDIZ).
The programme in partnership with FibreTrace is a groundbreaking achievement for the fast-emerging African textile sector.
FibreTrace is working to ensure every member of the textile supply chain has the ability to take direct accountability to reduce the environmental impact of the global industry.
The programme will make its debut in the Fall of 2022 when GDIZ spinning, fabric and garment production facilities are anticipated to start operations.
The initiative will bring full traceability to the first of their kind, vertically integrated mills in the Republic of Benin to trace, verify and audit the lifecycle of their garments from spinning mills to stores, sharing the journey of Benin premium cotton with end consumers.
It is being said that the partnership between Arise IIP and FibreTrace will position Benin at the forefront of textile innovation and technology, improving visibility, resilience and securing economic competitiveness.
It will create a thriving value chain for African agriculture as the country is expected to have 98,000 tonnes lint cotton processing capacity per annum by the end of 2023.
It is pertinent to mention here that the smallholder farmers are estimated to produce around 30 per cent of total crop output globally, making them the foundation of global agriculture and the food sector.
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To ensure the traceability of the cotton, FibreTrace embeds luminescent pigments on the fibre at the spinning mill. The pigments, indestructible throughout the entire textile processing cycle, can be read and tracked at every stage of the supply chain, and each audit is recorded on the blockchain making the information secured, accessible and irrefutable.
Gagan Gupta, founder and CEO Arise IIP, said, “Arise IIP will now be able to guarantee the sustainability of the premium cotton transformed on its industrial platforms across Africa thanks to the technology deployed by FibreTrace. Across all its industrial parks, Arise IIP aims to lead the way towards the sustainable transformation of local resources, where every stage of production is transparent for the benefit of local farmers and the end consumer.”
Shannon Mercer, CEO FibreTrace says, “We’re truly excited about this partnership because it is the first step in making African grown cotton more visible to the global textile industry, and affords these farmers, who dedicate their land and livelihoods to growing this fibre, the opportunity to take a more prevalent role. We look forward to the day that the primary impact data from African farmers is combined with traceability to showcase Africa’s contribution to a better future for the textile industry.”
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