In an era where consumers are increasingly conscious of the environmental and ethical impact of their purchases, the fashion industry is under growing pressure to enhance transparency and traceability in its supply chains. Thanks to advancements in technology, several innovative companies are making waves in the fashion world by providing traceability solutions. Here’s the Apparel Resources’ list of five trailblazing traceability tech companies that are reshaping the landscape of the fashion industry.
1 RETRACED
Retraced is a Germany-based tech company that leverages blockchain technology to bring transparency to fashion supply chains. It offers a platform that allows brands to trace the entire journey of a product, from raw material to the finished garment.
Retraced encourages organisations to delve into their lesser-known suppliers, visualise their entire supply chains and trace products comprehensively to attain complete control and an overarching view of their production processes.
Companies are urged to articulate their traceability requirements, streamline the collection of traceability data through automation and authenticate information using Retraced’s AI-powered document revision capabilities.
2 PROVENANCE
Provenance is a London-based company that empowers brands to showcase the origin, journey and impact of their products. Provenance helps build trust between brands and consumers by providing verifiable information about the product’s supply chain.
The company distinguishes itself in the field of traceability solutions through its unique combination of blockchain technology, user-friendly interfaces and a commitment to sustainability. Provenance’s blockchain ensures that the information is secure, tamper-proof and easily accessible, providing a higher level of trust and authenticity compared to traditional traceability methods.
One of Provenance’s strengths lies in its user-friendly interface. The platform is designed to be accessible and intuitive, allowing both businesses and consumers to easily navigate and understand the information provided. This focus on user experience enhances the adoption and effectiveness of the traceability solution. Provenance offers seamless integration with existing systems, making it adaptable to a variety of supply chain structures and technologies. This flexibility enables businesses to incorporate Provenance’s traceability solution without disrupting their current operations, fostering a smoother transition to more transparent and traceable supply chains.
3 FIBRETRACE
Established in 2018, the Australian traceability technology start-up FibreTrace has rapidly carved a niche in the fashion supply chain landscape. Offering a unique solution, the company embeds luminescent pigments onto fibres directly at the spinning mill, ensuring a fully traceable textile throughout its entire lifecycle.
The brilliance of FibreTrace lies in its indestructible pigments seamlessly integrated into the fibre. Even in the case of recycling, the fabric’s origins can be traced effortlessly using handheld or inline scanners designed to read these pigments. Crucially, real-time information about the fibre is securely stored in a blockchain database at each stage of the production line. Beyond just cotton, FibreTrace extends its traceability technology to responsible viscose and recycled polyester, with ongoing trials exploring applications in wool, leather and bast fibres like hemp and flax.
In 2021, FibreTrace achieved a significant milestone by securing a European patent for its ‘Photon Marker System in Fibre Material’, ensuring brands attain complete transparency and traceability for their textiles. What is worth noting here is the prior US patent granted to FibreTrace in April 2019, solidifying the company’s global recognition for its cutting-edge technology.
4 HAELIXA
Venturing into the realms of supply chain and procurement, Haelixa emerges as a pioneer in the field of product traceability solutions. Established in 2016 and headquartered in Switzerland, the company specialises in providing comprehensive solutions that physically mark, trace and authenticate products, fostering a seamless journey from producer to retailer. The unique aspect of its approach lies in leveraging DNA-based traceability solutions, ushering in a new era of supply chain transparency and product integrity.
Haelixa’s groundbreaking solutions are rooted in the power of DNA, ensuring an unparalleled level of accuracy and reliability in product traceability. This innovative approach goes beyond conventional methods, providing an unforgeable marker for each product in the supply chain.
By implementing Haelixa’s solutions, businesses can establish transparency at every stage of the supply chain. From the initial production phases to the final point of sale, the company’s technologies enable a real-time understanding of product movement, enhancing overall visibility.
5 TRUSTRACE
Originating in Sweden, TrusTrace stands at the forefront of transforming the fashion supply chain into an informed and transparent ecosystem for retailers, brands and consumers. Utilising Software as a Service (SaaS) model, TrusTrace empowers companies to meticulously trace the entire product journey, from the initial fibre stage to the final garment, ensuring impactful transparency throughout the process. This extends across various stakeholders, including garment manufacturers, fabric manufacturers, wet processing units, spinners and fibre manufacturers.
In a strategic move to enhance traceability, particularly focusing on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) aspects, TrusTrace has forged a coalition with prominent industry players – Higg Index, the Open Apparel Registry (OAR), Circle.Fashion, Renoon and Haelixa. This alliance aims to introduce a traceability ecosystem that tackles the fashion industry’s challenges through a powerful integrated solution, fostering seamless data integration and knowledge exchange.
As consumers continue to demand transparency and sustainability in the fashion industry, these traceability tech companies are playing a crucial role in reshaping the way brands manage their supply chains. By embracing innovative technologies, these companies are not only helping fashion brands meet consumer expectations but are also contributing to a more responsible and sustainable future for the industry.
