Fiber forward: tracing cotton from the source to consumer and back
Fiber forward traceability allows value chains to trace cotton fibers from the source moving forward across the complete value chain.…
Logistics
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- Organisation:
- Collecting, Processing
- Return Logistics
- Transparency:
- Track & Trace technologies
- Material passports
- Organisation:
Logistics in a cascade are multi-dimentional
Logistics refers to the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption, to the reverse re-collection into the next repurpose cycle.
It involves coordinating and optimizing various activities such as transportation, inventory management, warehousing, material handling, and packaging to ensure that the right content is delivered to the right place at the right time and at the lowest cost possible. In a cascade context, logistics is a critical function that helps all stakeholders manage the movement of goods and materials throughout the entire network, including suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, customers, service suppliers, collectors, and recyclers.
Raw @RaddisCotton is transported from farm to Ginner
Hand towels on their way to customers @CWS
Example of Tracer technology @Sympany
Transparency is essential
Overall, transparency in supply chains is essential for building trust and accountability between all stakeholders. It helps to drive innovation and creates the fundament for circular business practices.
Whereas traditional customer-supplier relationships were previously the starting point in logistics, it is now important to develop a transparent value network as the follow-up of this linear supply chain model. Our Research focuses on the values, terms and conditions in which the partners envision this collaborative network possible
Track & Trace
Track and Trace technologies enable a product’s status to be captured through the value chain, and to retrospectively identify and verify its path.
Track & trace technology
A track and trace technology and process for fibers helps to ensure this transparency, accountability, and quality control throughout the value network. To maintain a clear overview of the different ‘raw materials’ and their status is key information for each stakeholder in the value network. The specific information should be retrieved between every user step and “travels with the fibre” could include data such as:
- origin
- toxicity
- use
- treatments
- end of use
An other important requirement for the optimal technology is the possibility of easy disposal before the fibers return to the biosphere at the end of heir useful life or that the technology used is itself biodegradable/biocompatible.
Material passport is a tool
The material passport is essentially a digital or physical record that accompanies the fibers and the connected products throughout its lifecycle, providing a complete and transparent record of the materials and treatments used in its different constructions. This information is crucial for all the designers, manufacturers, and recyclers in the value network and it is an important focus point in the research of the Circular Cotton Cascade.
UPDATES
This research project has been granted a RAAK-mkb subsidy by Regieorgaan SIA. Regiorgaan SIA encourages the professionalisation and strengthens the quality of applied research in universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands. Universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands carry out applied research which arises from issues or problems in practice. Initator: Yassasree B.V. as part of the @GVKSociety. Project lead: Avans University of Applied Science.
Read about the project on the SIA website (Dutch)