New Guide for Fashion Brands and Retailers to Embrace Responsible Sourcing Practices for MMCFs

Sustainable forest management has become increasingly critical as the role of man-made cellulosic fibres (MMCFs) gains currency as preferred materials that play a vital role in the textile-fashion industry's efforts to embrace environmentally responsible and socially accountable approaches. A whitepaper by PEFC or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification equips brands and retailers on how to advance the traceability of MMCF materials.

Staff Writer

7 July 2023

4 minutes

Long Story, Cut Short

Sustainable production of MMCFs begins in the forest, making it crucial for brands to understand the potential risks associated with forests and take proactive measures to manage and mitigate these risks.
By embracing forest-positive sourcing strategies, fashion brands and retailers not only meet their sustainability goals but also establish themselves as leaders in the ongoing industry transformation.
The whitepaper delves into practical, feasible, and scalable actions to address the challenges in MMCF sourcing faced by fashion brands and retailers.

The fashion industry can support the health and vitality of the world’s forests by implementing steps that promote more forests being managed sustainably, help combat climate change, preserve biodiversity, and support rural livelihoods.

The whitepaper: By taking leadership of sustainable actions and bringing peers along, companies can together make a future for our forests, exhorts a whitepaper — Enhancing Sustainability Through Forest-Positive MMCF Sourcing: A Guide for Fashion Brands and Retailers — brought out by PEFC International, a leading global alliance of national forest certification systems.

It works throughout the entire forest supply chain to promote good practice in the forest and to ensure that forest-based products are produced with respect for the highest ecological, social and ethical standards.

Responsible sourcing: Responsible sourcing strategies play a vital role in addressing and mitigating potential environmental and social risks.

Transparency and traceability throughout the value chain are essential, achieved through mapping each part of the process and implementing chain of custody certification.
Selecting certified sources of raw materials demonstrates a company's serious commitment to environmental and social sustainability and to mitigate the risks.
By embracing responsible sourcing strategies, companies safeguard the environment, promote social justice, and enhance their reputation. This commitment ensures long-term success by meeting the expectations of consumers, investors, and stakeholders.

The Pitfalls: The consequences of not considering environmental and social implications across product value chains can be very heavy for the fashion industry, which is particularly dependent on natural resources and specialised labour.

To achieve sustainability goals, responsible sourcing of feedstock is crucial. This involves framing a responsible MMCF sourcing policy that includes sustainable forest management standards and implementing it effectively.
Failure to do so can lead to broader consequences, including negative impacts on the environment, social justice, and business-related aspects of sourcing.

Wood pulp makers: China, the US, South Africa, Canada, and Indonesia—contribute to nearly 60% of global dissolving wood pulp (DWP) volume.

To put into the context of global wood use, DWP production constitutes a small fraction of global wood production, accounting for less than 3% of global industrial roundwood removals in 2019.

Chain of custody certification: Understanding the feedstock sourcing of MMCFs is crucial to managing potential risks. In 2021, MMCFs accounted for 6.4% of the total fibre market, produced primarily from wood transformed into DWP before being processed into various MMCF types: viscose, modal, lyocell, or acetate.

Definition of the PEFC chain of custody certification is a mechanism for tracking certified material from the forest to the final product.
It is essential for companies to implement and demonstrate responsible sourcing and for consumers to make responsible purchasing decisions.
For a product to qualify for certification, all entities along the supply chain must be PEFC chain of custody certified. Only then are companies eligible to use the PEFC label on their products and in their product marketing to highlight the responsible sourcing of raw materials.
PEFC chain of custody certification offers several important benefits: access to markets for environmentally responsible products, risk management including protection of workers’ fundamental rights, and traceability.
To meet stakeholders’ expectations, PEFC chain of custody certification can be integrated into a brand’s supply traceability system.
PEFC chain of custody certification plays a crucial role in facilitating responsible sourcing of forest-based materials. It complements PEFC forest management certification by establishing traceability between products and PEFC-certified sustainably managed forests.
This certification covers the entire supply chain, including logging, fibre production, spinning, dyeing, weaving, garment manufacturing, and the final product, and helps to eliminate the materials that come from controversial sources, such as those linked to illegal logging, deforestation, or human rights violations.
It is a valuable solution that provides evidence of sustainable sourcing from certified forests. Generic labels like “eco-friendly” and “environmentally responsible” are insufficient because they lack concrete information on specific production stages.
PEFC certification enables companies to substantiate claims regarding the use of forest-based materials from certified sustainably managed forests.

How to: Some steps to ensure MMCF raw materials come from sustainably managed forests in practical terms are as follows:

Incorporate responsible MMCF sourcing certification requirements This demonstrates commitment to sustainability and encourages suppliers to meet the necessary certification standards.
Request PEFC-certified MMCF materials from Tier 1 suppliers This will provide evidence that the raw materials used in the products come from certified sustainably managed forests and allow a company to make substantiated claims.
Encourage suppliers to obtain PEFC chain of custody certification This certification demonstrates their materials are sourced from PEFC-certified forests and enables traceability throughout the supply chain.
Clearly communicate sustainability targets and timeline This clarity will help suppliers align their efforts with the brand or retailer’s sustainability goals and ensure a shared understanding of expectations.
Use the API for seamless certification updates and to connect company’s database with the PEFC certificate database This integration gives real-time updates on suppliers’ certification data and streamlines the verification process.

New Guide for Fashion Brands and Retailers to Embrace Responsible Sourcing Practices for MMCFs

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