Today, Stockholm-based SaaS company TrusTrace announced the launch of its new blockchain-based solution for supply chain traceability – TrusTrace Certified Material Compliance. The company has an existing product traceability and supply chain transparency platform and considers its new innovation a one-stop-shop solution for material compliance. Sports brand adidas is one of its first adopters and provided early input into its development in line with the company’s ambitious sustainability goals for the coming years.
Globally, the fashion industry produces almost four times the environmental impact of the airline industry, with 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions emanating from the production of apparel and footwear. The unsustainable ways in which fast fashion is produced is one of the leading causes of climate change. A lack of regulation and unchecked greenwashing from major companies only exacerbates its environmental impact. TrusTrace Certified Material Compliance aims to combat misinformation and improve transparency and traceability within the fashion industry.
“In the midst of global greenwashing and challenges with unsubstantiated claims, brands and regulators are moving quickly to instill confidence among consumers that products are, indeed, as sustainable as they claim to be,” said Shameek Ghosh, CEO of TrusTrace. “Brands that want to establish near real-time traceability at the lot level by mapping the movement of raw materials to finished goods – and automatically calculate the sustainability metrics of those goods – now have a proven solution in TrusTrace Certified Material Compliance.”
The solution provides a lot of information about a product’s material composition and supply chain transactions in one single place. Examples of the processes it can track are the calculation of material waste, a product’s origins, and the documentation of the percentage of certified vs non-certified material content. Hence brands can demonstrate their compliance with national and international standards and regulations.
TrusTrace developed its technology using a combination of AI, blockchain, IoT and software automation. This allows near-instantaneous updating of garment information, as well as the assurance that the details are immutable, traceable, and transparent. Other brands that TrusTrace has worked with include Fjällräven, Decathlon, Filippa K, and Coop.
In October, the startup raised a $6 million Series A funding led by Industrifonden and Fairpoint Capital. Fashion for Good is also a supporter.
Meanwhile, other fashion traceability solutions that use blockchain include TextileGenesis used by the Cotton Trust Protocol, Aware adopted by the Denim Deal initiative and a blockchain sustainability initiative adopted by the UK Fashion and Textile Association in association with several fashion retailers.