Transparency and traceability in the textile value chain

A textile and apparel value chain is one of the most important customer commodity industries with long linear supply chains. They are considered to be among the most polluting industries globally (Niinimäki et al., 2020; Virta and Räisänen, 2021). The textiles sector contributes to 8–10% of global climate change (Quantis, 2018; UNFCCC, 2018). For example, garment manufacturing requires large amounts of water and energy in fibres and textile production. Pollution and vast land use are additional problems. Without proper treatment before discharge, wet processing wastewater contains harmful chemicals that can contaminate exhaust air, wastewater, and the fabric itself, causing severe ecological damage. Moreover, the overproduction and overconsumption of apparel products have led to a massive load on landfills. All these reasons and more make it critical to understand, evaluate, and reform the functioning of this value chain with the help of new technologies and digitalisation.