Our requirements for good environmental and social manufacturing conditions apply to the entire supply chain, not just to our direct suppliers. The challenge: the deeper we delve into the upstream chain, the more players we need to scrutinize. And our influence decreases. Knowing exactly who’s involved in the manufacturing of our goods, and the corresponding social and environmental impact, is essential if we want to make improvements.

Our goal: by 2030 we want our supply chain to be 100% transparent. One milestone on this journey is for all our strategic suppliers to publish their upstream chains by 2025, from the finished product all the way back to how fibres are produced. We also want more transparency for our customers, through product traceability for example.

Our suppliers’ ecological performance. The most important instrument to bring transparency to environmental performance in upstream chains is the Higg Facility Environmental Module or “FEM”. The module was developed by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and includes information and key figures on environmental management, energy, water and chemicals. It delivers valuable insights on where our suppliers and their partners stand. In future, we will be able to use the data to determine what improvements our partners have made and where they require our support. Higg FEM also allows our suppliers to share data with other SAC members. It reduces duplicate data sharing, increases data quality and provides an industry benchmark for comparing performance.

Traceability using Blockchain. In collaboration with the Fashion for Good startup TrusTrace, in 2020 we piloted a project on transparency and traceability. TrusTrace uses Blockchain technology to analyse a range of sustainability data in the supply chain. Detailed information like suppliers of accessories, packaging and chemicals for dyeing were shared with us via the smart platform. 

Increased industry transparency. As a company, we are committed to making the textile industry’s sustainability performance more transparent and comparable. Since 2020 and for the first time, we’ve made data about our sustainability goals and activities available to the Higg Brand and Retail Module (BRM) and are happy for it to be verified externally. The Higg BRM tool allows brands and retailers to assess their performance in ethical and environmental criteria such as human rights, fair wages or CO2 emissions based on standards shared across the industry.