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James Crowley, manager, transparency and traceability (supply chain) at Cascale, recently participated in the SmartCollab 2024 event, coordinated by Smartex.AI in Porto, Portugal. The manufacturer-focused sustainability event brought together key players from across the textile supply chain to learn, collaborate, and forge stronger connections, harnessing collective momentum to build a more efficient, profitable, and sustainable industry.
Crowley presented as part of “The Textile Data Highway: Insights from The Modern Textile Factory Report 2.0” panel, which also included Tercio Pinto, managing director, Impetus; and Gilberto Loureiro, CEO, Smartex; hosted by Max Easton, global innovation director, Smartex. All panelists had contributed to the report, and the discussion centered around related subjects including the critical need for a robust data highway that connects all tiers of the supply chain.
Crowley highlighted how EU legislation serves to catalyze two scopes of data collection for manufacturer ESG data management; at the facility level and the product level. He shared how the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting and Due Diligence Directives (CSRD & CSDDD) are driving ESG data requests at a facility level, focusing on data quality and validation, and aligning cross-functional teams on standard operating procedures for reporting. Crowley also noted how the Eco-Design for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), Digital Product Passport (DPP), Product Environmental Footprint (PEF), and Green Claims Directive are driving data requests at a product and process level.
The industry needs a constant pulse of operational traceability guidance to support policy compliance. MTF data highway is a blueprint exactly for this manufacturer-focused operational guidance. It supports the industry in streamlining ESG data collection processes and information management to allow more time, focus, and capacity on their own business growth, and to support impactful environmental and social projects. Manufacturers are busy and don’t need an overhaul of data requests. MTF data highway supports this narrative of making data collection processes more efficient and streamlined.
Emphasizing the importance of understanding manufacturer challenges, Crowley highlighted the need for operational traceability guidance to support compliance in the consumer products industry. He noted that the Modern Textile Factory Report could serve as a blueprint to provide manufacturer-focused traceability support and called for collaborative industry support in streamlining ESG data collection processes and information management. Crowley reiterated that the industry needs to harmonize and streamline traceability processes to allow more time, focus, and capacity for impactful environmental and social projects. Overall, traceability needs to be prioritized now in order to be de-prioritized in the future.
