Fashion brands are under increasing pressure to be transparent and responsible, both from consumers and regulations. However, many struggle to prove their compliance due to a lack of visibility in their supply chains.

To address this issue, traceability solution FibreTrace and inspection and certification firm SGS are teaming up to develop a "fiber integrity protocol." This protocol will include product tagging, chain of custody assessments, and testing, aiming to support verified and compliant supply chains.

The partnership will offer solutions in major fashion production hubs like China, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, and the United States.

FibreTrace offers two types of traceability solutions that run on the same cloud-based platform. By using blockchain technology, FibreTrace Mapped will provide a digital chain of custody, while FibreTrace Verified adds a pigment to raw fibers for authentication.

Shannon Mercer, CEO of FibreTrace, said, “As transparency accelerates in application across the global textile industry, there is an increasing burden on manufacturers and fiber producers to provide impact data, robust documentation and additional social and environmental compliance. The partnership between FibreTrace and SGS Global provides both brands and manufacturers the combined resource and technology solution to ensure precision, validity and on-ground support to streamline and scale the process.”

Per Mercer, the industry is facing a number of challenges in verifying fibers, including counterfeit materials that affect product quality, compliance and claims, and the considerable amounts of data that companies need to manage to meet environmental and trade regulations. “Handling vast amounts of data related to material specifications, test results and compliance documentation can be overwhelming, leading to potential errors and inefficiencies,” she said.

Mercer added, “Both [FibreTrace and SGS] are committed to seeing a reduction in the environmental and social impact of the global textile industry and believe traceability and third-party audit integrity are an essential combination of services that will protect sustainable, responsible and recycled fiber programs and enhance their value to the end consumer.”

The brands will be assisted in the on-site scanning of their marked fibers, and can conduct audits as a part of this partnership. They will also be able to sample fibers using FibreTrace technology. Suppliers will be assisted by SGS to record their compliance accurately in the FibreTrace system.

“This welcome collaboration with FibreTrace marks another step forward to support the global textile industry towards full supply chain traceability. By embracing new technologies, we are better placed to ease the pathway towards traceability for producers, manufacturers, brands and retailers worldwide,” said Yvonne Tse, vice president, global softlines at SGS.