The Footwear Distributors and Retailers Association of America (FDRA) has launched a new tool to help footwear brands and retailers achieve greater transparency across their entire supply chains, writes Worldfootwear.com.
The tool takes into account new traceability regulations that aim to eliminate the use of forced labor in the production of products and ensure that products meet the required level of environmental compliance and sustainability. The tool is designed to ensure that brands can fully display their operations down to the raw material level.
Currently, shoe brands often focus only on the first two levels of production, where components are processed and final products are assembled. However, new regulations, especially in the European Union, require full transparency at all four levels of the supply chain.
FDRA’s tool provides brands with a comprehensive roadmap to track every stage of production, including levels three and four, including farms, mines, and refining of raw materials. This level of detailed visibility is unprecedented in the footwear industry, according to FDRA Senior Vice President Andy Polk. “Traditionally, brands have never had to go all the way to find out where materials might be mined or grown,” Polk said.
The tool breaks down shoes into multiple components to help brands map the supply chain of upper and lining materials. By 2025, it will expand to include other components, such as soles and insoles. The tool is currently available to companies for free.
FDRA believes that this resource will help businesses comply with regulations and allow them to provide greater transparency to consumers. Brands using the tool will be able to provide scannable digital profiles for their products, offering shoppers information about the origins and manufacturing processes behind their purchases.
The process of creating such a traceability map can take from 12 to 24 months, FDRA encourages footwear industry companies that are members of the association to learn and implement it as soon as possible.
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