Wellness brands and top fashion houses are formulating a new blueprint for the traceability of their retail, meeting consumer demand for goods-transparency.
Brands are investing in tools, platforms, and expert hires to better grasp the resources their products pull from. “Across our industry, there’s an important movement to better understand where and how products are made, from farm to shelf,” Ralph Lauren’s Chief Global Impact and Communications Officer Katie Ioanilli told Vogue Business. “This work is complex, but we believe it is critical for ensuring real integrity and accountability.”
Pangaia implemented a traceability function to its impact team to manage supple-chain mapping and resource certifications. Selfridges launched a Self-Assessment Questionnaire in 2020 for suppliers and brand partners to disclose their own fair trade practices and material commitments, part of the retailer’s goal to include every partner in the initiative by 2030. Chanel considers its raw material sourcing a “strategic issue,” according to Vogue, and Swedish brand Asket’s co-founder August Bard Bringéus told Vogue that the brand “won’t create a product that we can’t trace all the way upstream.” VF Corp, head of brands including Supreme and The North Face, aims to fully trace its top five materials by 2027.
In March, Chloé revealed a digital ID for traceability and resale authenticity on all labeled products. The program is supported by Chloé’s suppliers, manufacturers, the enterprise platform EON and digital ownership platform Trust Place, all of which will collectively aid in tracing the brand’s silk, wool, and leather goods.
Ritual vitamins launched its Made Traceable® initiative, which allows consumers to not only read a full ingredients list, but understand where each ingredient came from and why it was added to the formula. Customers can view all sourcing, packaging, and formulation details on Ritual’s website.
These brands are elevating digital tools to ensure adequate traceability to adhere to growing consumer demands for source transparency, ethical practices, and earth-friendly product lines.
