IBM Blockchain to track the carbon impact of fashion goods

Fashion brand Covalent will use blockchain technology to provide traceability for its products

Fashion brand Covalent yesterday announced that its customers would now be able to track the supply chain and carbon footprint of its products by using IBM Blockchain technology on IBM LinuxONE.

Covalent was recently launched by the California-based biotechnology company Newlight Technologies and sells fashion accessories from handbags to sunglasses made from sustainable AirCarbon.

AirCarbon is a regenerative biomaterial made by natural ocean microorganisms to replace synthetic plastic and fibres to tackle climate change and plastics pollution. The material has been certified carbon negative by the Carbon Trust as it is made using renewable power and therefore reduces the amount of carbon in the air.

Newlight CEO Mark Herrema said, “Our goal was to give people the information they need to decide what kind of impact they want to make. With IBM Blockchain and LinuxONE technology, we can now provide visibility into not only the steps used to make each Covalent product, but also the carbon impact that each specific product has on the environment. For us, that’s important, because it helps make tangible the unique pathway that led to the creation of that product.”

Sustainability is becoming ever more important to consumers – 57% of them would be happy to buy different products to help the environment, according to a recent survey by IBM. However, many products are labelled sustainable without providing any indication of how they reduce environmental impact. The application of IBM Blockchain technology means that Covalent’s AirCarbon products have a level of traceability that allows customers to view the carbon impact at each stage of the production process.

IBM Blockchain General Manager, Alistair Rennie, added, “Blockchain’s ability to foster trust gives Covalent’s customers a better understanding of how their products were made. In turn, Covalent can create a better customer experience, and a better opportunity for consumers to understand how their choices impact the environment. This is another great example of how blockchain is supporting our mission of using technology for good.”

Each Covalent product will have a unique 12 digit blockchain-based number known as the “Carbon Date”. This number represents the time when the AirCarbon for that product was created, and can be entered into the Covalent website to track the steps of production, from when the AirCarbon was moulded into the product to who independently verified its carbon footprint. Blockchain provides an immutable record of the entire supply chain journey.