Tracing sustainability indicators in the textile and clothing value chain using blockchain technology

Abstract

In the current days, the Textile & Clothing industry sector is one of the largest and one with the greatest environmental impact, not only due to the consumption of water and the use of toxic chemicals, but also due to the increasing levels of textile waste. In addition, this industry often resorts to countries with cheap labor where workers’ rights are typically not met. The solution may involve the final consumer who, while purchasing these products, supports the entire value chain. If the final consumer chooses to buy products that are more socially and environmentally sustainable, it inspires the industry to follow this trend. For this, the final consumer must know the social and environmental indicators of the entire value chain and must trust on the information received. In this paper, Design Science Research is being used to build a system architecture capable of tracing these environmental and social indicators using decentralized and distributed technologies, like blockchain and smart contracts, to build Decentralized Applications (DApp).