erlich x retraced: Understanding Supply Chain Transparency
Where do your clothes really come from? With retraced, we make our supply chain transparent – from raw material and processing right to you. A big step towards more responsibility and trust.
In the production of our textiles, responsibility towards people and the environment is particularly important to us. To be able to produce fairly and sustainably, it is necessary to trace the entire supply chain.
Together with retraced, we are doing just that: We show you where your clothes come from – from the first raw material to your home.
Definition What exactly is retraced?
retraced is a technology company that enables us to make our production processes even more transparent. This gives you a more detailed insight into the supply chain of your erlich items.
We enter all available information: From the country our organic cotton comes from, to spinning, knitting, dyeing, finishing, manufacturing, and packaging – all the way to us as retailers. The goal: Maximum transparency down to the raw material.
For new suppliers: They register on www.retraced.com, undergo an assessment, and answer questions about their social and ecological sustainability. This allows us to assess whether they meet our requirements.
Why? Why are transparent supply chains so important?
Transparent supply chains form the basis for fair, more sustainable, and responsible production. Only through true transparency can it be verified under which social and ecological standards production takes place.
In the traditional textile industry, supply chains are often opaque. This leads to poor social standards, exploitation of workers, and environmental problems. No one can verify what is really happening.
More Conscious Purchasing Decisions
You can see how and where your clothes are produced and make informed choices.
More Sustainable & Fairer Production
With transparency, we can ensure that our standards are met – and build trust.
Change in the Industry
You contribute to changes in the textile industry – with every conscious purchase.
With us retraced at erlich textil
The integration of retraced into our online shop is an important step for us in terms of transparency. From the procurement of raw materials to production and shipping – it is important to us to share this information as transparently as possible.
The collaboration with retraced enables us and you to monitor production processes and ensure that our textiles are produced fairly and in an environmentally friendly way.
Pilot project: We started with 11 items. These products already transparently show via retraced which stations they have gone through. You can find the complete list on our product pages.
Important note: For data protection reasons, we do not show the exact names and addresses of suppliers. Often, we only know the country our fibers come from – for example, with cotton, we never have an exact plantation address. Therefore, we limit the display on our product pages to the countries.
It also means a significant additional effort for our suppliers to provide us with this information. Therefore, it often takes a long time to obtain more data and background information about our supply chain.
Future QR Codes for Even More Transparency
This is our next big step: We plan to introduce QR codes that will contain all important information about our products – the data we have entered into retraced.
- The QR codes could be sewn into or printed on our products.
- Not only customers, but also textile recyclers and sorters can access all relevant details.
- Your advantage: You scan the code with your smartphone and immediately see the complete production history.
Our goal: These QR codes should be established by the middle of next year – for even more transparency throughout the entire supply chain!
The challenge: Textile supply chains are generally very complex and opaque. It is difficult to precisely find and provide all information. Therefore, this topic is an ongoing priority for us.
Recommendation Discover Transparency
Find out now where your next erlich favorite pieces come from. Visit our product pages and discover supply chain transparency. Every purchase supports even more transparency and fair change in the textile industry.
Transparency is the first step to real trust and change.
