TrusTrace - a platform for supply chain traceability and compliance founded in 2016 - has today (27 June 2023) launched its second industry playbook, ‘The Traceability Roadmap’, at the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen.
Featuring case studies from brands such as Tapestry (home of Coach and Kate Spade) and ASICS, the playbook serves as a practical guide to successfully implementing traceability within the fashion industry, in order to achieve ESG, compliance and business goals.
The Traceability Roadmap also looks into how the future regulatory landscape shapes the needs for traceability, as well as how industry standardization and collaboration can be achieved.
“In just a few short years, supply chain traceability has become recognized as the central tenet of sustainable transformation. Brands that want to communicate product information with consumers, adhere to certification criteria, abide by current and incoming regulations, and avoid greenwashing can only do so by tracing their complex network of suppliers and manufacturers,” said TrusTrace CEO and Co-Founder Shameek Ghosh.
“Yet despite its importance, there is still a lack of understanding on implementation. Our first Traceability Playbook focused on why traceability is needed. Now, our new Traceability Roadmap provides the industry with a detailed guide on how it can be achieved, with learnings from global leaders in traceability.”
Achieving transparency
A sequel to TrusTrace’s first playbook released in July 2022, today’s Traceability Roadmap articulates the journey to implement traceability, with chapters on defining your needs, navigating legislation and compliance, ensuring organisational alignment and readiness, finding the right solution, and making an implementation successful. It also looks at how to standardise and scale traceability industry-wide, and ends with a practical toolkit to take users towards implementation.
Matthew Xu (ASICS CSR and Sustainability Lead) shares insights from the Asics traceability program – a company-wide transformation project to move from a linear to a circular business model: “Traceability plays a vital role in achieving transparency – not only to share our story but also to exchange best practices and foster collaboration in addressing challenges.”
While the roadmap focuses on the fashion industry, its contents are relevant to other industries facing supply chain challenges.
Why traceability?
The business drivers supporting a transition towards traceability are listed as follows:
- To comply with regulations to secure presence in key markets
- To sell products through retailers with stringent sustainability policies
- To attract conscious consumers
- To increase stock price or attract sustainability investments
- To make a meaningful impact on supply chains
The spectrum of laws linked to traceability – such as the European Commission’s Green Claims Directive, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), and the German Supply Chain Act – are referenced as ‘driving factors’ in the industry’s push towards traceability throughout supply chains.
“Since being instituted in June of 2022, the UFLPA (Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act) law has catalyzed the adoption of traceability solutions for compliance,” says Kit Conklin, Vice President at Kharon. “It’s imperative that brands across industries understand the impact, and what’s required of them, in order to comply.”
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