Traceability: Next Big Trend in Fashion (and Politics)
As EU officials prepare ambitious measures aiming to make supply chains more transparent, the fur sector launches new global traceability scheme in 2020.
The International Fur Federation's (IFF) new certification and traceability programme FURMARK will introduce a new chemical standard to keep track of health and safety requirements. It will also monitor environmental standards during dressing and dyeing and in future will oversee human rights across the entire fur supply chain.
FURMARK comes as the EU is trying to boost its efforts and do more about transparency.
Instead of merely tracing processes through the supply chains, new legislative proposals plan to look at how a product is being made from a sustainable perspective.
In the Circular Economy Action Plan, the European Commission envisages a law to bind companies’ green claims to common Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCRs) in a bid to tackle greenwashing.
The action plan is proposing an electronic passport for products to contain information about emissions, expected lifespan, repairability and other sustainability information.
EU policymakers also consider making due diligence mandatory for companies.
With its vast market and globalised supply chains, the garment sector fell under the radar of legislators for human and workers’ rights violations and massive environmental impact of productions.
But this increased scrutiny is not new for the fur sector. WelFur is an example of due diligence put in practice. A tool to identify animal welfare problems on the farm level of the fur supply chain, WelFur makes it possible to tackle issues accordingly.
Based on the blockchain technology, FURMARK's traceability system would look at animal welfare, environmental concern and human rights issues through each stage of the supply chain.
"We have a well-consolidated supply chain, and this allows us to provide real transparency and traceability, especially when it comes to animal welfare, fur dressing and sustainability standards," said Mark Oaten, CEO of IFF.
As a result, different certification programmes and standards about fur from around the globe will follow the same standards of science, transparency and independent inspection.
FURMARK certified fur could be traced back from its origin to the endpoint, enabling consumers to learn about how and where materials are sourced.
The programme was developed in consultation with major brands such as the LVMH group and will kick off in 2020.
