Luxury conglomerate Kering crafts a sustainable future via the Viscose Traceability Project, backed by an Indian tech start-up

Of the around six million tonnes of viscose used annually to produce garments, 30% may be sourced from endangered forests.

How sustainable is your fashion? What kind of effect does that expensive couture gown or that suit you own to have on the planet? Questions such as these are increasingly being asked by a world struggling with four to six-storey high toxic landfills, crammed with human discards including fashion garments. There is also the question of where the viscose (a semi-synthetic type of rayon fabric made from wood pulp that is widely used by the fashion industry as a silk substitute) is sourced from? The fear is that of around six million tonnes of viscose used annually to produce garments, 30% is sourced from endangered forests.

The luxury industry is attempting to change its image as one of the planet’s big polluters by not just adopting sustainable practices and experimenting with more environment-friendly processes, but also tracing the source of their raw material. Fashion for Good (a platform for sustainable fashion innovation) has collaborated with Kering, one of the world’s largest luxury conglomerates (owns high-power brands such as Gucci, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, YSL and Bottega Veneta) on the Viscose Traceability Project to go back to the source from which their collaborations have derived viscose fabric from.

The project, which concluded recently, was able to trace viscose in over 23,000 products produced not just by Kering but also another brand called BESTSELLER. TextileGenesis, a Bengaluru-based innovator, has designed traceability applications for use across the entire textile value chain, from fibre to finished goods. The complex web of supply chains spans a wide variety of fashion businesses such as spinners, weavers, knitters, dye-houses, and garment makers, and is spread across eight countries.

“At Kering, we believe that innovation is crucial to reach our sustainability targets. Part of the work we’re doing at our Materials Innovation Lab since 2013 is to identify materials that can lower our impact on people and the planet while continuing to offer our luxury houses fabrics and textiles that meet the highest standards of quality for their collections. The Viscose Traceability Pilot is one of the options we’re looking at to support us in reaching our goal of 100% traceability for our key materials by 2025,” says Christian Tubito, Head of Materials Innovation, Kering.

Christian Tubito.

By using platforms such as TextileGenisis, the behemoth luxury brand has been able to trace whether the viscose fibre it uses is from sustainable sources (and not from endangered forests) and change the supply change in case of violation of environmental laws. The attempt, says Tubito, is to create a more sustainable supply chain and innovate alternative textiles whose production doesn’t use too many chemics and is not toxic.

Katrin Ley, Managing Director, Fashion for Good, speaks about the Viscose Traceability Programme answers a few questions about not just the programme but the need for sustainability in fashion.

What is viscose tracing and why is it important?

With an estimated 30% of viscose sourced from endangered forests, it is important to ensure that fibres originate from renewable and sustainable sources so that we protect natural resources. The validation of TextileGenesis’ solution is an important step towards transparency in the fashion value chain.

Blockchain has emerged as a promising tool for supply chain transparency and traceability. The immutability of a blockchain platform mitigates the risk of fraudulent activity by recording the journey of a product throughout the supply chain.

TextileGenesis’ innovative platform uses Fibercoins™ as their blockchain-based digital tokens that provide a “digital twin” for sustainable fibres. The platform allows supply chain players to transfer these digital coins in parallel to the production of textile products as they move through the supply chain. They have also created a fibre-to-retail traceability data protocol for the apparel ecosystem based on the GS1 framework – a global traceability standard used in the food and healthcare industry.

Kering supplied four garment styles to be traced for the pilot, with fibres sourced from three leading sustainable viscose producers. We are working with Kering on several initiatives such as the resource-efficient cotton farming project.

There is a lot of conversation around sustainability in fashion. But how possible is it for fashion to be sustainable?

India is not only one of the leading manufacturers of fashion garments but also has one of the largest consumers of textiles and what the fashion industry produces. The change needs to start at the industry level, with manufacturers adopting more sustainable practices.

Some significant challenges are facing the industry. Manufacturers are often under the impression that there is little to no innovation in the sustainable fashion and textile segment. However, there are new sustainable technologies that are being developed. Often, the workforce needs to be upskilled to work with new technologies. Also, significant investment in these technologies is required upfront. With a void on the policy front, it is difficult to enforce sustainable practices and regulations.

Circularity is a concept the fashion world is talking about. Can you tell us what circularity means and how is it possible to use it in their fashion choices?

Fashion is stuck in a pattern of ‘take-make-waste, which causes devastating environmental impacts, not to mention huge economic losses. On average, we buy 60% more clothing than we did 15 years ago — but we keep each item only half as long. Besides, it is estimated that nearly 60% of all clothing produced ends up being burned or in landfills within one year of being made. It doesn’t need to be this way. The fashion industry can transform from the linear ‘take-make-waste model to a circular Good Fashion approach that is restorative and regenerative by design.

What has the response been in India to Fashion for Good’s initiatives?

The launch of our regional programme in Asia has strengthened our network and positions us to better serve local manufacturers, key supply chain actors, brands, and innovators. We help the innovators’ solutions and technologies reach scale. We have established partnerships with Indian based textile manufacturer Arvind, global home textile leaders Welspun, and are collaborating with the world leader in viscose staple fibre and raw materials Birla Cellulose.

You have been working for a while in India. Can you tell us about some home-grown fashion brands, designers, who have adapted to sustainable practices?

India has surprised us in multiple ways. Since the consumer base is extremely diverse, multiple new start-up companies have dedicated themselves to ways in which fashion can be made more sustainable. Brands such as Phool was one of the chosen innovators in the first South Asia Innovators Programme. It is a brand that collects sacred and handcrafts them into charcoal-free incense, organic vermicompost and biodegradable packaging material through the ‘flowercycling’ technology. Liva by Aditya Birla Group stands for the high-quality fabric made using natural cellulosic fibres, delivered through an accredited value chain. The Full Circle textiles project focuses on man-made cellulosic.

In April, Fashion for Good had chosen 13 innovators for the third batch of the Asia Innovation Programme. What is the Innovation Programme?

The Asia Innovation Programme, a regional extension of the global programme, helps innovations that have the potential to disrupt the current fashion supply chain worldwide, innovate and scale-up. Of particular interest is the unique perspective of home-grown innovators focusing on key areas such as raw materials, dyeing, and finishing, manufacturing, retail, end-of-use and transparency and traceability.

We scout for innovative solutions, assessing their potential and capacity for positive impact. Fashion for Good is actively working on scaling innovations in the region by catalysing collaborative pilots that address areas such as making organic cotton traceable and solutions for the treatment of wastewater.

Katrin Ley

From India, you chose Graviky Labs for the innovation programme. Can you tell us something about them and the reasons for them being chosen?

Graviky Labs is a material innovation start-up that turns end-of-life carbon emissions into industrial grade materials. Emissions are recycled into products such as screen-print and inkjet inks, dyestuff and transfer inks that could be used in apparel and packaging applications.

Fashion for Good is now planning to scale the TextileGenesis platform and solution together with Kering and other partners beyond viscose. It will include other sustainable fibres such as organic cotton and recycled polyester. Six other fibre players will independently be engaged in pilots for sustainable viscose, recycled polyester and organic cotton.