Why Traceability Plays An Important Role In Sustainability

Sustainability is not just a trend or buzzword, it is now an expectation that has fallen onto all businesses. Whether you are in the fashion or fast food industry, your business has a corporate social responsibility to consider and this includes implementing ethical and environmentally-friendly practices.
The world is now watching closer than ever before at which businesses are truly meeting the promises when it comes to sustainability.

As a result of this growing pressure, many large brands have been found to be using false marketing tactics, known as greenwashing, to boost their eco-credentials and satisfy the needs of their consumers.
This has led to sustainability claims always coming into question and it can be frustrating for those who are being honest and transparent because they have to go above and beyond to prove every claim that they make.

Fortunately, there is one easy way to tackle this issue and that is by using tracer technology in the textile industry.

What is traceability in the textile industry?

Traceability is the key to unlocking transparency when it comes to sustainability. It refers to the tracking of a product's journey from sourcing the raw material through to delivery to the end consumer – though the degree of detail and depth can vary depending on the tracer technology being used.

The tracers are typically embedded into the fibres of the material at the earliest stages of production so that every step onwards is clearly tracked.
This journey is then visible to the consumer via a QR code displayed on the product label.

What are the benefits of traceability?

This type of technology being embedded into sustainable products enables consumers to gain more visibility into its development so that they can verify all of the environmentally-friendly claims made by the business.
This goes a long way towards eradicating greenwashing which is become a big issue in the textile industry and helping businesses build trust with their customers.

There are also benefits to traceability outside of addressing and verifying sustainability.
It can help with quality management as any defects can be easily traced back to the guilty party, it's a great marketing tool that can put you ahead of competitors and it can assist in achieving supply chain circularity.

We see the value in tracer technology so much so that we have incorporated it into our brand new line of recycled cotton bags.

Introducing Aware™ Technology

In our latest collection of Ecoduka Recycled CYCLO® Bags, we have embedded Aware™ tracer technology into each product.
Aware™ is an advanced technology that  is easy to use, highly secure and can truly verify the authenticity of recycled materials.

The tracer particles are added to the recycled fibre before it is spun into yarn which can be used to create a digital version known as the 'digital twin'. This 'digital twin' is registered in a secure blockchain and includes properties such as colour, composition, weight and the original certification.

In other words, every product made from CYCLO® recycled fibres has received a unique 'fingerprint'.

Each bag has a label attached that displays a QR code which can be scanned to access all the details. This means that you can be sure that you are buying a product from a conscious and responsible brand offering you full transparency about the sustainable materials they used for that product.

The AWARE™ hangtags are exclusive for products in which the AWARE™ tracers have been detected in the material and matched with the digital twin yarn registered on blockchain.

Explore our full range of Ecoduka Recycled CYCLO® Bags with Aware™ tracer technology here