Leading traceability technology business Fibretrace has today released its Fibre Impact Module (FIM), an integrated benchmarking tool that collects and aggregates previously uncaptured impact data from farms including carbon emissions, water use, energy consumption and other environmental performance data as shared by farmers and their agronomists and third-party verified.

Fibretrace was established in 2018 and says it provides brands with a solution for the highly coveted transparent textile supply chain by delivering the leading marker technology for traceability. The FIM is the next evolution for Fibretrace, combining traceability with impact measurement, the company says. The FIM uses the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol accounting standard as its backbone.

It all starts with the individual farmer who is able to, with the FIM, demonstrate their commitment to environment excellence through farm-level impact such as water use, energy use, chemical use and soil carbon content.

As farmers, we have invested a lot of time and energy into making our farm carbon positive and with Fibretrace and the FIM we are able to share that with the world

A unique Fibretrace luminescent pigment is then applied to the raw fibre, which is traced and audited in real-time throughout the global textile supply chain. This, Fibretrace says, allows brands and consumers to not only trace their supply chain journey and verify fibre content, but to see the impact of the raw fibre from farm level.

Global first

This is a global first, the company adds, allowing brands and suppliers to accurately capture, verify and trace GHG emissions in raw materials - creating a pathway for the fashion and textile sector to reduce GHG emissions and help prevent the impact of climate change.

“The FIM changes the narrative for sustainable cotton going forward, as a farmer you are either carbon neutral, or positive or you are negative and that’s that,” says Andrew Olah of the Transformers Foundation.

Fibretrace has partnered with Climate Friendly, an Australian-based consultancy and pioneer of carbon farming to develop the FIM and to engage directly with farmers around the world about transitioning to a more climate positive future.

The FIM methodology aims to be approved under the Gold Standard, delivering a high-level environmental integrity and verified sustainable development benefits. All impact data is third party verified by an internationally recognised certification body that verifies the integrity of the application of the methodologies, as well as the consistent application when assessments are carried out, the company says. The tool ensures full transparency for the global textile industry from raw fibre source, which sets the stage for continuous improvement overtime based on real and verified data, adds Fibretrace.

 “As farmers, we have invested a lot of time and energy into making our farm carbon positive and with Fibretrace and the FIM we are able to share that with the world,” says Danielle Statham of Good Earth Cotton, the first carbon positive cotton farm in Australia.

The Fibre Impact Module (FIM) can be deployed on cotton, Better Cotton, e3, organic cotton and in the near future will include other natural fibres including wool, linen, hemp, viscose and leather. Fibretrace is available at leading suppliers around the world using natural, synthetic and post-consumer recycled fibres. The Fibre Impact Module will be commercially available to market in March 2021.

Technology

The core of Fibretrace’s technology is a patented luminescent pigment that is embedded in raw fibres (or optionally at yarn spinning) and is traced, verified and audited in real time at each step of the global textile supply chain using a proprietary handheld Fibretrace Bluetooth Scanner that identifies and quantifies pigments in fibre, yarn, fabric and finished goods that send encrypted data into secure blockchain and software that was specifically designed and engineered for the textile and apparel supply chain.

Fibretrace claims to deliver end-to-end traceability and real-time results and data, housed on a Fibretrace platform that can be accessed securely via any device connected to the internet. The company’s mission is to ensure every member of the textile supply chain has the ability to take direct accountability to reduce the environmental impact of the global industry. In doing so, it aims to ultimately provide the consumer the opportunity to choose a transparent and sustainable supply chain to follow and purchase from.

Fibretrace Website