Green and Transparent Supply Chains

Engineers across Aditya Birla Group’s plants and factories are delivering innovative, planet-friendly solutions every day, with the latest addition being the incorporation of blockchain technology by Thai Acrylic Fibre into its acrylic fibre production for end-to-end fashion traceability. 

By partnering with FibreTrace, Thai Acrylic Fibre joins the league of Aditya Birla Group businesses using blockchain for supply chain transparency. Thanks to the innovative technology, brands and consumers can receive real-time verification of Thai Acrylic Fibre’s Regel™ fibre’s origin and journey. The FibreTrace marker that is embedded into raw fibres as an invisible, non-toxic, luminescent pigment ID can be scanned at any stage, whether during dyeing, spinning or garment production, acting as a ‘digital passport’ that tracks the fibre’s journey right from production through to the finished garment.

Manufacturing world-class acrylic fibres

Thai Acrylic Fibre is among the global top five producers of quality acrylic fibres, with one of the greenest, cleanest and most environment-friendly acrylic fibre plants in the world. The company is also renowned for one of the first successful commercialisations of acrylic fibre produced from recycled waste in its brand Regel™. Certified by the Global Recycled Standards (GRS), Regel™ is composed of 50% recycled waste and 50% virgin polymer, and was developed by Thai Acrylic Fibre to meet the growing demand of sustainable fashion products from global consumers, brands and retailers. Waste accumulation and management is one of the key sustainability challenges of the fashion industry and therefore recycling pre-consumer, post-consumer and in-process waste to make new products is one of the most preferred and prevalent ways to reduce the environmental impact of fibre produced.      

Building greener supply chains with blockchain

Using blockchain to make supply chains greener and more transparent isn’t new to Aditya Birla Group. Although often associated with cryptocurrencies, blockchain’s next-gen features like – enhanced security and traceability – have contributed towards making the manufacturing industry more accountable and sustainable in its operations. One such significant engineering advance has been the use of the technology for responsible sourcing value chains.    
 

Flashback: In 2021, Birla Cellulose, a Grasim subsidiary, developed a blockchain platform known as GreenTrack™, which gives consumers visibility into the textile fibre’s origins by allowing tracking of the VSF fibre supply chain from certified forests to the end user. This innovative use of blockchain bagged Birla Cellulose the 2021 National Innovative and Sustainable Supply Chain Award by the UN Global Compact Network India.

Applying tech for good

Like GreenTrack™ and FibreTrace, the potential for blockchain and other new technologies to contribute towards a more responsible world is limitless. With its commitment to planet-friendly growth, Aditya Birla Group is taking the lead in exploring applications of these technologies across its businesses to make a positive difference to both, the consumer, and the environment.