Birla Cellulose, the pulp and fibre business of Aditya Birla Group, has collaborated with TextileGenesis TM , a block-chain enabled digital traceability platform which tracks and verifies the use of sustainable fibres from fibre to garment. Birla Cellulose – which is a leading sustainability focused Man-Made Cellulosic Fibres (MMCF) producer – specialises in staying ahead of the sustainability curve by making tracer enabled sustainable man-made cellulosic fibre and then integrating with a traceability platform.
Regulatory changes towards sustainable fashion have driven big brands to set key
sustainability and ESG goals by 2030 and made traceability platform a key tool in the
textile and apparel industry to provide transparency across textile value chain to the
end consumer. Towards this, Birla Cellulose is actively collaborating with brands and supply chain partners, innovators, and orchestrators such as Canopy, Fashion for Good, and Circular Fashion Partnership for scaling its circular business model.
Its blockchain-based and molecular tracer-backed platform GreenTrack™ – Fibre Traceability Tool, launched in 2019, today has 90+ brands and 1500+ value chain partners on boarded with over 56000 MT of fibre tracked across the globe. The platform provides end-to-end traceability of value chain from forest to fashion.
The company’s fibres – Livaeco viscose, Livaeco Modal, Excel™ (lyocell), and Spunshades™ Eco-Enhanced – are manufactured with accredited sustainability benchmarks and deliver superior performance. Liva Reviva is a circular viscose fibre made using cotton waste and provides a solution to recycle fashion industry waste into fresh fibres. The company collaborates actively with its upstream and downstream partners with an aim to create a bigger and broader positive impact on sustainability of its value chain.
ManMohan Singh, Chief Marketing Officer – Birla Cellulose, Grasim Industries, said, “Our partnership with TextileGenesis TM is one more step towards our commitment to offer complete transparent supply chain and creating visibility to the sustainably managed forests that are among the most important aspect of responsibly produced viscose. Birla Cellulose has for the last three consecutive years achieved the Dark Green Shirt status in the Canopy’s Hot Button Report, a testimony to our continuous efforts on the conservation of Ancient & Endangered Forests and robust initiatives to scale circular business models in fashion.”
“Last year, a pilot was carried out with a global brand to understand the feasibility and adaptability of the TextileGenesis TM platform. After a successful pilot run, Birla Cellulose is now expanding the scope to include more Brands on the TextileGenesis TM platform in addition to the existing GreenTrack™ platform,” he further stated.
TextileGenesisTM – a pioneering traceability platform custom built for the apparel eco-system to creating radical transparency from fibre-to-retail, and ensure authenticity and provenance of sustainable textiles against generics – has invented FibercoinsTM – a digital token – to create material accounting at article-lot level across the textile supply chain. It currently collaborates with 75+ brands and 8000+ suppliers in 45 countries.
Amit Gautam, Chief Executive Officer & Founder of TextileGenesis™ added to this, saying, “With increasing compliance and reputational risks, CEOs and Boards of top 100 fashion brands have committed to using 100% sustainable and traceable fibres over the next 5 years, with transparency being a core part of business priorities. Sustainability and traceability are intertwined, and it’s great to partner with Birla Cellulose and deliver transparency solutions for the brands. Our supply chain traceability platform will create digital solutions for Birla Cellulose innovative and sustainable fibres across the entire supply chain using Fibercoins™ traceability technology.”
Brands today seek end-to-end visibility across the value chain rather than just their immediate supplier. More and more brands are encouraging environmental sustainability through business practices that helps both brands and consumers. With this partnership, both Birla Cellulose and TextileGenesis™ hope to strengthen their sustainability credentials along with sharpening their brand to consumer connect.
