Fashion for Good today launched the Viscose Traceability Project.
Developed in collaboration with BESTSELLER and Kering, the project applies the innovative block chain technology from TextileGenesis™ (India-based Fashion for Good Innovator) to trace the viscose in the textile supply chain spanning eight countries.
BESTSELLER and Kering, together with Zalando, will provide the financial backing needed to enable the 9-month project.
It is pertinent to mention that nearly 6 million tonnes of viscose are used to produce apparels annually and demand is only expected to increase.
With an estimated 30 per cent of viscose sourced from endangered forests, ensuring the fibres originate from renewable sources will secure its potential as one of the sustainable fibres of the future.
As such, a call for transparency in fashion supply chains and scalable traceability solutions for viscose fibre have become a top priority for the fashion industry.
Katrin Ley, MD, Fashion for Good, believes, “This consortium project elaborates on our foundational traceability work with organic cotton to bring a scalable solution for traceability, from fibre to finish, in the viscose supply chain.”
BESTSELLER and Kering will provide the eight garment styles to be traced for the pilot, with fibres sourced from three leading sustainable viscose producers.
TextileGenesis™ designs traceability applications for use across the entire textile value chain, from fibre to finished goods. They will provide their blockchain solution and platform to trace the origins of the viscose used in the garments along the supply chains of the two participating brands.
These supply chains, consisting of spinners, weavers, knitters, dye-houses and garment makers, span a total of eight countries to reflect the real-world complexities and various supply-chain scenarios to fully test the flexibility and scalability of the platform.
BIG NEWS: Today we are excited to share the launch of our #Viscose #Traceability Pilot alongside BESTSELLER & @KeringGroup, w additional support from @Zalando!
Read more about what makes this project so important for the fashion industry here: https://t.co/ET3BXnOkBN pic.twitter.com/4reKDJVuC9
— Fashion for Good (@FashionforGood) December 1, 2020
Following the completion of the pilot in late 2021, an aggregated report detailing the key findings and best practices will be shared publicly.
“Sourcing of sustainable fashion products increasingly requires full supply chain traceability to ensure integrity of sustainability claims. We see sustainability and traceability as two sides of the same coin and our purpose is to accelerate the realisation of 100 per cent sustainable fibre pledges by providing radical transparency in the textile value chain, ” says Amit Gautam, CEO and Founder, TextileGenesis™.
