Amsterdam, the Netherlands – Tackling the main challenges of the textiles industry, AWARE™ applies tracer particles and blockchain to guarantee that the recycled cotton that enters the supply chain is the same that comes out as apparel. By offering validation, transparency and verification, this hybrid technology can work to eliminate greenwashing and establish more trust in the textile industry.
The future of yarn: recycled cotton
Whether it’s GM mass farmed, BCI or organic, virgin cotton comes at a huge cost – both monetary and environmental. There is a reason why textiles are often rated as the second most polluting industry after oil and gas. In terms of water use alone, one kilo of conventional cotton requires 9,800 liters of water. And the sad truth is that cotton production countries are already lacking in drinking water.
Huge wins can be achieved in mainstreaming the use of recycled cotton – for which the water has already been used, the chemicals applied and the CO2 released. Why waste it? It’s estimated that 80% of the cotton we need already exists at any given time: in consumer wardrobes, as factory scraps, in warehouses as unsold stocks, etc.
Envisioning a new industry
It’s time for the textiles industry to embrace recycled cotton on an industrial scale. Already, brands and retailers are actively taking responsibility to make their industry cleaner.
But the clothing supply chain is long and convoluted. How do you know the recycled cotton that is re-yarned, dyed, cut, sewn, finished and exported is really the same cotton advertised as a finished garment? How do you avoid accusations of greenwashing? Enter AWARE™.
Verifiable and transparent
AWARE™ technology works to integrate validation into the supply chains of brands and retailers. So when a consumer, NGO or government asks if it can be proven that certain clothing comes from clean providence, a brand can say: “Yes!”
The process begins with a global network of carefully selected partner spinners who add the patented tracer material into the original recycled feedstock. A virtual representation of the yarn/fibre is then created as a digital token, and includes all relevant information (certification that it’s indeed recycled, yarn/fibre specifications, etc) and stored on decentralised and open source blockchain.
The yarn can now enter production in a company’s supply chain that they themselves have established as compliant. At the very end of the chain the final product will be scanned by a hand scanner to confirm it’s made from the original certified recycled materials.
This confirmation is then linked to the related digital token stored on blockchain, the original purchase order and the AWARE™ Certificate of Authenticity. All this information will then be transferred to the digital wallet of the retailer / brand, complete with an easy-to-understand blockchain interface documenting all environmental impact savings
Adding value for a better world
Feico van der Veen is founder and director of The Movement, a company that develops sustainable solutions for the textile industry. Backed by 25 years of experience as a contract manufacturer, he regards his AWARE™ technology as a natural next step.
“There’s a real pressure for change: to make sustainability actually mean something,” says Van der Veen. “Everyone realises that ‘sustainability’ is a term that’s if it’s not fully empty, it’s at least vague. Brands and retailers now recognise we need to be measuring impact reduction – in terms of water use, energy, waste, CO2 and all the rest.”
“People are finally talking in more concrete terms: transparency, traceability, validation and verification. The buying departments have finally fully caught up to the strategic departments. It’s time for action.”
One more thing…
The technology is fresh. AWARE™ took over a year from concept to proof of concept.
“Yes, it will be great when consumers can scan their clothes. I really see that happening,” says Van Der Veen. “But right now I am keeping the message simple: let’s validate and verify recycled cotton. But of course, the same technology can be applied to any other such as hemp, viscose, lyocell bamboo, recycled polyester and recycled nylon.”
“What industry can’t benefit from validated in, validated out?”
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