Traceability in a Circular Economy

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The supply chain within the fashion industry can be complex and for it to be completely traceable and transparent, a lot of work has to be done by both brands and manufacturers in order to showcase their efforts to achieve their sustainability goals.

In this edition of Delving with Delvify, we explore how traceability is critical through the supply chain and why consumers increasingly demand to get more information about their garments' supply chain sources. The video below gives an in-depth analysis of each step within the supply chain:

What is Traceability?

You may have seen the words transparency and traceability during discussions about sustainability, and is quite the buzzword! So, what is it truly and what does it take for brands to be 'traceable'? The quickest way to understand traceability is that it is knowing where and how every piece of the garment is made. It is what uncovers the problems behind the supply chain and sheds some light on consumers about what happens behind the scenes.

Traceability is commonly confused with transparency, and there is a difference there although they are related. Traceability is about having the visibility to know about what happens at every stage during the garment manufacturing process but if you withhold it from consumers and the public, then you are not being transparent.

An example would be when companies claim their garments are 'eco-friendly' but give the consumers no visibility as to how it is actually eco-friendly. As many of you know, this is also called greenwashing. With such a complicated supply chain, it is easy for brands to overlook their second and third-tier factories and claim they have made significant improvements to become more sustainable. But brands must remember that traceability requires them to know about their full supply chain in detail.

Read the article here:

Why is Traceability Necessary?

The story of being sustainable has shifted over the years. Consumer behavior has shifted to more conscious consumption. These shoppers have gradually demanded that brands showcase more information about what happens behind the production of a garment.

Despite this shift in consumer behavior, brands have been slow in adopting any ESG strategies. There are brands that have stood out to make obvious efforts such as Patagonia and Levi's but to combat the slow progress made by other brands, governing bodies are taking steps to protect garment workers as well as the environment.

Traceability is necessary because it gives brands and their decision-makers a way to give confidence to their consumers that they are making efforts to analyze their supply chain in order to find out which area they need to focus on to make serious improvements. Once that is identified, brands can work with manufacturers to pinpoint the areas where they can gather data to make sure ESG initiatives can be implemented and also train staff and managers to understand what operational changes can be made to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

More information in the article here:

How Can Brands Fit Traceability in the Circular Economy?

The use of traceability can help create a better picture of the life of a garment. Lenzing has used an interesting way to help consumers find out more about what has happened to their garments. They have put a tracker on the fibers so that you can find out more about the process it has gone through all the way down to the yarn level.

This can be a competitive advantage, as you can communicate to your consumers that they can find out more details about the fiber within their garments to see whether they are recyclable materials. This enables brands to be part of a more circular economy. This transparency and traceability will allow consumers to feel more confident in your brand, knowing that you can provide them with the same visibility that you have.

Not only this, but it allows your consumers to have a deeper connection with your brand as well. Being able to understand the efforts and also the processes to make a garment that they would like to purchase peaks their interest, and will increase their brand loyalty as well.

Find the full article here:

Despite the lack of transparency within the Fashion industry now, it is key that brands themselves make sure that they are able to trace each step of the supply chain so that they can spot areas of improvement. Once that is achieved, it will be much easier to provide that transparency to their consumers. This way, consumers can be more confident in the brands they purchase from. As more brands become more aware of it, we look forwards to seeing this improvement between brands and manufacturers this year!

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