Harris Tweed partners with FibreTrace to launch fully traceable wool

Harris Tweed Hebrides is the first woollen textile manufacturer to introduce a traceability technology that combines the digital and physical worlds, identifying fiber origin, quantifying fibers, and ensuring full supply chain custody with real-time verification.

Harris Tweed Hebrides has processed wool from wool growers across Scotland into a uniquely designed handwoven Harris Tweed® supplied directly to the Scotland-based retailer the House of Bruar in collaboration with British Wool and FibreTrace®.

The initiative illustrates the UK luxury community’s proactive approach to putting local wool producers at the forefront of sustainability and ensuring that their efforts at the farm are recognized globally by brands and consumers alike.

Margaret Ann Macleod, sales director at Harris Tweed, said that their relationship with FibreTrace gives Harris Tweed Hebrides the opportunity to fully advocate British wool and support local suppliers who are committed to best practice and lowering wool’s local environmental footprint.

Macleod added that despite the importance of sheep farming to many of the UK’s most rural and remote communities, the magnitude of the wool business has made it more difficult for British sourced wool to participate in established globally recognized sustainable certifications to track wool back to its origin. This project is a huge step forward in helping us all support the numerous UK farmers and Scottish crofters who provide the wool fiber for Harris Tweed®, which is always handwoven from 100% new British wool.

Because of the relative scale of the wool industry, tracing UK-sourced wool back to its origin and recognizing individual efforts and positive impact on farms has previously been difficult. To combat this, the technology is installed at the scouring stage, ensuring that the traceability journey begins as close to the raw materials stage as possible.

FibreTrace® technology begins with the embedding of the luminous pigment into the fiber at the raw materials stage. The product is scanned at each step of the supply chain, from spinning to weaving to garment fabrication and beyond, and every audit is logged on the blockchain to give secure and irrefutable data.

This data is then used to create a one-of-a-kind passport that tells the item’s story from farm to shelf and shares it with the end-consumer.