Sustainability is no longer just a buzzword, it's the driving force behind the fashion industry's evolution. Every decision a fashion brand makes design to where sourcing of raw materials, how the products are created even how they communicate their values must resonate with consumers.

Credit Lenzing

An important part of a sustainable business is accounting for where raw materials come from. While sustainable sourcing can be a challenge due to the complex nature of global supply chains and market dispersion, stakeholders increasingly expect companies to maintain updated information on feedstock origin and demonstrate their efforts to mitigate environmental and social risks associated with sourcing.

Tough tracing raw materials’ origin

In the fashion industry, it's not uncommon for companies further down the supply chain to face challenges when it comes to tracking the origins of their raw materials. However, certification helps in maintaining credibility and transparency within this complex landscape.

Here's how it works: Accredited third-party auditors step in, meticulously reviewing suppliers' documentation and practices on an annual basis. Following a rigorous assessment, they issue certificates that serve as a clear and compelling testament to the sustainable origins of these materials. This process not only bolsters the industry's integrity but also provides valuable assurance to all stakeholders.

Generic labels like ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘environmentally responsible’ are insufficient because they lack concrete information on specific production stages. This is where third-party audits come in to ensure transparency and accountability. 

Building trust with custody certifications

One such assurance is the PEFC chain of custody certification, which is a mechanism for tracking certified material from the forest to the final product. It can be integrated into a brand’s supply traceability system and is a valuable solution that provides evidence of sustainable sourcing from certified forests. PEFC certification enables companies to substantiate claims regarding the use of forest-based materials from certified sustainably managed forests.

Credit Lenzing

The chain of custody certification means that retailers purchasing final products are absolutely certain that controversial forest materials are excluded and that the process of manufacturing itself aligns with deforestation, biodiversity, and climate commitments.

Certification plays a crucial role in facilitating responsible sourcing of forest-based materials and establishing traceability between products and PEFC-certified sustainably managed forests. This certification covers the entire supply chain, including logging, fibre production, spinning, dyeing, weaving, garment manufacturing, and the final product, and helps to eliminate the materials that come from controversial sources, such as those linked to illegal logging, deforestation, or human rights violations.

Credit Lenzing

The Lenzing Group is an international fibre production company working off nine production sites across the world, providing dissolving wood pulp that’s the basis for textile fibres for a variety of apparel. Having established a fully PEFC-certified sourcing pipeline, they consistently assess all 700 of their wood suppliers to ensure strict adherence to sustainable forestry criteria, resulting in over 99 per cent of the wood used meeting certification or controlled standards across their ecosystem. By consistently maintaining high levels of social responsibility and human rights standards among suppliers, Lenzing exemplifies that sustainability in fashion can be achieved right from the source.

How to incorporate traceability into supply chains

While incorporating sustainability into the supply chain is an important task, mapping and monitoring the sourcing choices of these actors can be a complex and resource-intensive task. So how do you ensure that your raw material like Man-Made Cellulosic Fibres (MMCF) comes from sustainably managed forests?

Credit Lenzing

PEFC suggests seven key steps:

⦁ Incorporate responsible MMCF sourcing certification requirements into policies.  This demonstrates a commitment to sustainability and encourages suppliers to meet the necessary certification standards.

⦁ Request PEFC-certified MMCF materials from Tier I suppliers. This will provide evidence that the raw materials come from certified sustainably managed forests and allow substantiated claims to be made.

⦁ Encourage suppliers to obtain PEFC chain of custody certification. This demonstrates the materials are sourced from certified forests and enables traceability throughout the supply chain.

⦁ Clearly communicate sustainability targets and timelines. Clarity will help suppliers align their efforts with looming sustainability goals and ensure a shared understanding of expectations.

⦁ Share clear guidance on how to obtain a certification with supplier networks. PEFC provides extensive information and guidance on the certification process.

⦁ Use the API for seamless certification updates and even connect your company’s database with the PEFC certificate database. Integration provides real-time updates on suppliers’ certification data and streamlines the verification process.

⦁ Publicly share the preferred approach to MMCF feedstock material sourcing on company websites. This improves transparency for customers and other stakeholders on the level of commitment to sustainable forest management and forest-positive actions.

Working with trusted partners

Within the fashion sector, brands often have limited visibility and engagement with the various stakeholders involved in forest-level operations. This underscores the importance of effective mapping, monitoring, and traceability processes throughout the supply chain. While incorporating sustainable practices into the fashion industry is essential, the practical application itself is a challenge for many retailers. The PEFC sustainable policy offers invaluable support to brands as they embark on this journey. 

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Ensuring that MMCF raw materials originate from forests with robust mitigation measures not only aids in achieving sustainability goals but also adds significant value to both brands and their customers.

One example of a player at the source of the supply chain is Aditya Birla Group’s Grasim Industries. The manufacturer of pulp and viscose staple fibre is heavily focused on building environmentally sustainable practices with built-in management systems that conform to international standards. 

The Group states it “uses its best efforts to source wood from suppliers participating in credible forest certification standards. Grasim recognizes the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI® ) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC™)”. This commitment to certification ensures that retailers can significantly improve traceability of the materials they use when producing their collections.

As the fashion industry increasingly embraces sustainability, certification emerges as the linchpin of responsible sourcing. Through rigorous audits and traceability mechanisms, certification assures the integrity of materials' origins, fostering transparency and accountability. PEFC's comprehensive chain of custody certification empowers brands to substantiate their claims of sustainable sourcing, from forest to final product. It's a vital step in eliminating controversial materials and promoting ethical practices in an era where consumers increasingly demanding them.

Credit APR

Fashion, one of the largest industries in the world, pulls in trillions of dollars in revenue annually. It’s no secret that the fashion industry’s practices greatly impact communities, natural resources, and the climate. With increasing pressure from consumers driven by intensifying climate change effects, reduced energy supply, rising costs, and the Covid-19 pandemic, many players in the fashion industry are rapidly shifting towards a greener, more socially accountable approach. Environmental and social impact have become a crucial benchmark for assessing company practices, influencing governance and policy strategies, and even financial decision-making. Companies that adopt a sustainable business model from design to sourcing, production, and communication gain market share, positive media attention, and stakeholder trust. On the other hand, unsustainable practices not only pose financial risks and jeopardise investor confidence but also threaten market share in the long term.

One aspect of the industry in focus for transformation is the manufacturing process and use of materials sourced from forests. Forest-based products include: natural rubber for shoe soles, paper and packaging, garment tags, retail paper bags, fibre used to make clothes – Man-Made Cellulosic Fibres (MMCF) in particular. MMCF has the third largest share in global fibre production after polyester and cotton. In 2021, MMCFs accounted for 6.4 per cent of the total fibre market, produced primarily from wood transformed into dissolving wood pulp (DWP) before being processed into various types of MMCF, such as viscose, modal, lyocell, or acetate. 

MMCFs are considered a sustainable material due to their circularity and renewable feedstock derived from trees. But to understand MMCFs and how they could be made sustainable, it’s important to understand their source. 

Starting from the Source

Dissolving Wood Pulp (DWP) serves as a crucial raw material in the production of MMCFs and the five largest dissolving wood pulp (DWP) producers are China, the US, South Africa, Canada, and Indonesia. They contribute nearly 60 per cent of global DWP volume. 

Credit Suryawan

Where exactly DWP is sourced from depends on the country. Plantation forests play a significant role in DWP sourcing in South Africa, Indonesia, and Brazil, comprising 7.4, 4.9, and 2.3 per cent respectively of their forests. In Europe, where semi-natural forests are prevalent, DWP primarily originates from these forests. In North America, naturally regenerated forests account for 94.8 per cent in Canada and 91.1 per cent in the US. In China, approximately 20 per cent of forests are plantations, while 61 per cent are naturally regenerating forests.

Risks to Forest Biodiversity

Since the sustainable production of MMCFs begins in the forest, it is crucial for brands to understand the potential risks to forests and take proactive measures to manage and mitigate these risks. 

Forests are home to more than 80 per cent of all terrestrial species of animals, plants, and insects, and are carbon sinks helping to mitigate climate change effects by removing CO2 from the atmosphere and sequestering carbon in trees and soil. They play a crucial role in climate-related risks like extreme weather, wildfire and pest outbreaks by regulating water flows, protecting local communities from extreme weather events, and offering resilient habitats to animal species, but only if they are managed responsibly.

Unsustainable forest management practices, overexploiting forests and timber harvesting at levels that exceed forests’ capacity to sequester carbon cause significant environmental degradation. This is why it is essential to initiate a sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fibre or energy from the forest.

How Certification Requirements Help

PEFC provides valuable support in mitigating these risks through its rigorous requirements for sustainable forest management. These requirements, encompassed within global and many national standards, ensure that forest operators adhere to robust practices that promote environmental and social responsibility. By understanding and implementing these standards, organisations can effectively address potential risks and contribute to the overall sustainability of forest ecosystems.

The PEFC standard requires forest management to maintain or increase forests and their ecosystem services as well as economic, ecological, cultural, and social forest values. 

It requires degraded forest ecosystems to be rehabilitated as far as economically feasible and adequate genetic, species and structural diversity encouraged, and forest management planning shall aim to respect all socio-economic forest functions. It also obliges forests to maintain or enhance their potential role in erosion control, flood prevention, and other regulating or supporting ecosystem services.

Sustainable Forest Management by Plantation Owners

Asia Pacific Rayon

Asia Pacific Rayon (APR) is emerging as a dynamic player in the realm of viscose rayon production in Asia, sourcing material from Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) in Indonesia. What sets them apart? All of APRIL's plantations fall under the canopy of PEFC SFM (sustainable forest management) certification, ensuring a commitment to traceable raw materials. As of December 2022, APRIL is managing a whopping 361,231 hectares of natural forest and wetland areas. Of this area, it restores and protects 150,693 hectares managed under the Restorasi Ekosistem Riau (RER) project, with the remainder being the conservation forest within the operational concession areas of APRIL.

Credit APR

“There is global awareness on the impacts of microplastic pollution, and consumers want sustainable fashion more than ever. Our sustainable, bio-based viscose fibre is one of the solutions to prevent further impacts of non-biodegradable material that leaks into our oceans,” says Basrie Kamba, President Director Asia Pacific Rayon.

“Our fibres are biodegradable, the microfibres that shed into the water system during washing will biodegrade and have no known negative impacts on marine life,” he added.

Sappi

A leading global distributor of both raw materials and a variety of textiles made from wood fibre-base, Sappi takes a strong stance on certified sustainability. Their emphasis on technological innovation is accompanied by a focus on certifications to ensure that their supply chain and operations meet global best practices for the environment.

Credit Lenzing

Duane Roothman, Sappi Forests Vice President explains, “We practise and promote sustainable forestry because it ensures clean air and water, protects biodiversity, and defends against climate change, amongst many other critical benefits. Forest certification validates our forest management practices and those of our suppliers in the well-managed forests and plantations from which we source wood fibre. We strive to continually increase the share of certified wood fibre supplied to our mills.”   

While their own plantations have PEFC forest management certificate, Sappi is also actively advocating for a fully transparent supply chain. To encourage their partner suppliers, the company is developing a supplier sustainability awards program to recognize those who are leading the way.

Guide to Incorporating Sustainability into Sourcing

The PEFC positions itself as a strategic ally for progressive businesses looking for concrete steps to elevate their sustainability efforts into real-world impact. A recent white paper by PEFC on forest-positive MMCF sourcing looks into the potential risks that are impacting forests. The paper explores how sustainable forest management requirements address and mitigate these risks and provides detailed sourcing strategies for fashion retailers.

Suggestions for fashion brands range from ensuring certified materials sourcing as a policy to how they can support their suppliers to succeed in the mission.

“PEFC’s white paper is addressing the urgent need for responsible sourcing practices in the fashion industry," says Julia Kozlik, Textile Program Lead at PEFC International. "By leveraging the knowledge shared in this paper, fashion brands and retailers can make informed decisions, support sustainable forest management, and preserve biodiversity."

With only 13 per cent of forests globally being managed sustainably for industry there is certainly room for improvement. As more fashion companies source materials from sustainable forests, traceability and knowing where source material comes from is key to holding the supply chain accountable, an increasingly vocal demand that is coming from consumers today.