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Lenzing’s new blockchain technology pilot, presented at the Fashion Summit in Hong Kong in September, enables brands and consumers to identify TENCEL branded fibers across each production and distribution step of finished garment or home textile—from fiber to retail. The technology is reported to allow consumers to verify the garment composition and the underlying textile supply chain at the point of sale, by scanning the barcode with a mobile device.
About 80 percent of consumers want brands to disclose their supply chain, the Lenzing Group reported recently. That data is based on a survey conducted by Ipsos MORI in October 2018 on EU consumer attitudes toward sustainability and supply chain transparency in the fashion industry.
Lenzing tested the technology by issuing blockchain-based TENCEL fibercoins to its supply chain partners in direct relation to physical shipments. The digital tokens were intended to serve as authentication mechanisms and provide digital chain of custody data. To test data integrity and ease of use, the supply chain participants conducted transactions through the data upload mechanism on the platform. A total of 49 distinct garment stock-keeping units (about 25,000 pieces) of Hong Kong–based brand Chicks were tracked on the digital platform from fibers to retail, the company says.
Lenzing is carrying out further tests involving partners along the value chain and expects the platform to be fully operational in 2020.
Source: eTextileCommunications.com