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Overview:

  • On Thursday, FibreTrace, a company specializing in textile technology, announced a partnership with Cargill and Target to facilitate real-time tracking of cotton gin fiber origins, as detailed in a press release shared with Retail Dive.
  • This collaboration aims to utilize unique luminescent pigments for marking 50,000 metric tons of raw cotton sourced from both the U.S. and Brazil within its first year, enabling traceability throughout the supply chain.
  • Mitch Standen, FibreTrace’s head of Americas, remarked that the partnership supports sustainability initiatives aimed at enhancing innovation, transparency, and fiber integrity for cotton from these regions.

Insights:

According to Target, this collaboration will expedite their sustainability initiatives, which are highlighted in the retailer’s latest sustainability plan. The strategy outlines Target’s commitment to responsible sourcing across multiple areas, including palm oil, cotton, forest products, as well as coffee and seafood.

“Ensuring full visibility into the origins of the cotton used in our products remains a key priority in our sustainability objectives,” stated Bill Foudy, Senior Vice President and President of Owned Brands at Target.

The technology provided by FibreTrace fosters accountability across the global textile supply chain and enhances the effectiveness of digital-only traceability solutions.

This innovative approach involves integrating luminescent pigments into raw cotton during the ginning process. By scanning these pigments, stakeholders can follow the cotton through the supply chain, verifying its origins and uploading data to blockchain technology, accessible on the FibreTrace platform or other preferred brand platforms.

Danielle Statham, founder and Managing Director of FibreTrace, expressed hope that this partnership will serve as a catalyst for broader change within the industry, showing other companies the potential within sustainable practices.

As businesses continue to expand their sourcing strategies, the trend towards sustainability is becoming increasingly prominent. Earlier this year, Lululemon collaborated with environmental tech firm Samsara Eco to reach a “milestone” in textile recycling, introducing an enzymatically recycled nylon 6,6 product and producing samples from this sustainable material in May 2023, promoting circular textile initiatives.

In another development, Under Armour partnered with materials company Celanese to create a new spandex alternative called “Neolast.” This innovative fiber mimics the performance of elastane, providing stretch while being made from recyclable elastoester polymers.

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