Fashion for Good and Textile Exchange have embarked on a two-year initiative to enhance transparency in the textile recycling supply chain. The Tracing Textile Waste Project aims to standardize data and system capabilities, focusing on pre-consumer reclaimed material. This effort will provide recommendations for developing and refining standards like the Global Recycled Standard (GRS) and Recycled Claim Standard (RCS).

The current process of tracing textile waste is fragmented and largely manual, with data often poorly classified and standardized. This lack of transparency impedes the scalability of recycled textiles. However, increasing pressure from brands and regulatory bodies necessitates improved transparency to verify the authenticity and origin of recycled materials.

Key components of the project include the creation of a standardized system for classifying and collecting data on textile waste. This will be facilitated by developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) of the Reclaimed Material Declaration Form (RMDF) and a comprehensive Glossary of Terms. Real-world testing will be conducted through the Reverse Resources platform, and the project will explore improved API integration to enhance data transfer across the supply chain.

The project is led by Fashion for Good and Textile Exchange, with support from Control Union and prominent brands such as Adidas, Target, Bestseller, Norrøna, and Levi Strauss & Co. Key ecosystem stakeholders include Reverse Resources, Recover, and Usha Yarns.