Chain of Custody: transparency in the textile supply chain

An initiative funded by The Good Reserve, our structural investment in circular innovation.

The challenge: gaining control over textile flows

The transition to a circular textile chain requires transparency. With the introduction of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles, producers and collectors are obliged to know exactly what happens to collected textiles. However, many chains still lack an overview: data is fragmented, registrations vary by party, and measuring reuse or recycling remains largely manual. True circularity, however, starts with reliable data.

The solution: digital monitoring at mass balance level

From The Good Reserve, Code for Good has invested in the development of the Circle Yarn Label (CYL); a platform that digitally maps the entire textile supply chain. CYL registers material flows at mass balance level, connects data to processing locations and visualises the entire chain in one dashboard. The system is fully aligned with the UPV monitoring protocol, allowing producers, collectors, and recyclers to share reliable data. By making this platform openly available, we want to demonstrate that transparency is not only an obligation but also a foundation for collaboration and a crucial step in reducing textile waste.

The solution: digital monitoring at mass balance level

The solution: digital monitoring at mass balance level

The impact: transparency as the basis for circularity

With the Circle Yarn Label, the circular textile chain is for the first time truly made transparent. Companies have reliable, comparable data that allows them to track their material flows. By placing transparency at the centre, trust is established between chain partners and circularity becomes measurable.