ARISE IIP, pan-African developer and operator of world-class industrial parks, and FibreTrace, the world leader in traceable fibre technology, announced today a new pilot program enabling spinner-to-garment traceability for ARISE IIP’s highly anticipated Republic of Benin spinning facilities at the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ).
A groundbreaking achievement for the fast-emerging African textile sector, the partnership between FibreTrace® and ARISE IIP will bring full traceability to the first of their kind, vertically integrated mills in the Republic of Benin to trace, verify and audit the lifecycle of their garments from spinning mills to stores, sharing the journey of Benin premium cotton with end consumers.
The partnership between ARISE IIP and FibreTrace® will position Benin at the forefront of textile innovation and technology, improving visibility, resilience, securing economic competitiveness, and creating a thriving value chain for African agriculture as the country is expected to have 98,000 tons lint cotton processing capacity per annum by the end of 2023.
Smallholder farmers are estimated to produce around 30% of total crop output globally, making them the foundation of global agriculture and the food sector. The program will make its debut in the Fall of 2022 when GDIZ spinning, fabric and garment production facilities are anticipated to start operations.
Given FibreTrace® success in other cotton growing regions, it is anticipated that this technology will be adopted at scale across all textile processing sites and facilities in Benin and across the African sub-continent. The technology will provide transparency and true custody of supply chain solutions for brands and suppliers across the globe working with African manufacturers and supporting the growth of best practices in agriculture on the continent.
To guarantee the traceability of the cotton, FibreTrace® embeds luminescent pigments on the fibre at the spinning mill. The pigments, indestructible throughout the entire textile processing cycle, can be read and tracked at every stage of the supply chain, and each audit is recorded on the blockchain making the information secured, accessible and irrefutable. The events of COP26 and rising pressure from governments, legislative bodies and consumers for brands and retailers to commit to greater climate action and take full accountability for their sustainability progress, have made clear that transparency and traceability are essential to leading dialogue and meaningful change for the global textile industry.
“ARISE IIP will now be able to guarantee the sustainability of the premium cotton transformed on its industrial platforms across Africa thanks to the technology deployed by FibreTrace®. Across all its industrial parks, ARISE IIP ambitions to lead the way towards the sustainable transformation of local resources, where every stage of production is transparent for the benefit of local farmers and the end consumer.”
Gagan Gupta, Founder and CEO, ARISE IIP
“We’re truly excited about this partnership because it is the first step in making African grown cotton more visible to the global textile industry, and affords these farmers, who dedicate their land and livelihoods to growing this fibre, the opportunity to take a more prevalent role. We look forward to the day that the primary impact data from African farmers is combined with traceability to showcase Africa’s contribution to a better future for the textile industry,”
Shannon Mercer, CEO, FibreTrace
About GDIZ
Glo-Djibé Industrial Zone (GDIZ), developed by the Société d’Investissement et de Promotion de L’Industrie – BENIN (SIPI BENIN), is a joint venture between Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms (IIP), Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), and the Republic of Benin. GDIZ is a dynamic industrial zone of 1,400 hectares (phase 1: 692 ha) developed by the ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms (IIP) which counts among its infrastructures several industrial zones in Africa, notably in Gabon (Gabon Special Economic Zone) and in Togo (Adétikope Industrial Platform) and in other countries of the continent. GDIZ will undoubtedly become one of the most successful industrial platforms in the sub-region with the creation of more than 300,000 jobs, including industrial jobs for women.
Website: https://gdiz-benin.com
About ARISE IIP
ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms (ARISE IIP) is a pan-African developer and operator of world-class industrial parks committed to making Africa thrive. We identify opportunities in commercial and industrial value chains across Africa, and conceive, finance, build and operate the necessary infrastructure, playing a catalytic role in supporting countries to transition to an industrial economy. We are driven by the pursuit of green growth; our ambition is to unlock the continent’s industrial potential while neutralising our carbon emissions and climate impact. ARISE IIP is currently present in Benin (GDIZ), Togo (PIA) and Gabon (GSEZ). GSEZ was ranked the world’s best special economic zone in the timber sector (2020 FDI ranking).
Website: www.ariseiip.com
- Vikas Budhiraja, Head of Textile (vikas.budhiraja@arisenet.com)
- Bhavin Vyas, Head of ESG: (bhavin.vyas@arisenet.com)
- Sarah Adnane, Chief Communications Officer: (sarah.adnane@arisenet.com)
About FibreTrace®
FIBRETRACE®’s mission is to ensure every member of the textile supply chain has the ability to take direct accountability to reduce the environmental impact of the global industry. In doing so, FIBRETRACE® aims to ultimately provide the consumer the opportunity to choose a transparent and sustainable supply chain to follow and purchase from. FIBRETRACE® is providing true custody of supply, real-time verification of a product as it moves through the global supply chain, primary impact data on emissions at farm, and verification of fibre content and quantity.
Website: https://www.fibretrace.io
- Lucy Woodward, Communications and Content Coordinator (lucy.woodward@fibretrace.io)
