At the Sourcing Journal Fall Summit 2025, the energy in the room felt different. For years, traceability sat in the background of sustainability conversations, it was always useful, important, but never urgent. This year, things shifted. When Hrishikesh Mohan, VP of Sustainability Solutions at Centric Software, described data as “the new infrastructure of fashion,” heads nodded across the audience. Brands, manufacturers, and tech providers all seemed to share the same thought: traceability has become fashion’s next competitive edge.

As the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), and Digital Product Passport (DPP) regulations narrowed towards 2027, traceability is no longer just about checking boxes, it’s now the foundation of operational agility, brand credibility, and resilience.. The companies that can verify what they make, backed with data, are the ones best positioned to achieve huge growth.

But this shift demands the ability to collect, standardize, and share verified supply chain information across every possible tier. 

The Industry’s Wake-Up Call

Mohan showed a three-tier map of data maturity that illustrates how fashion businesses are evolving towards full traceability.

“If data isn’t connected, it’s not usable.”

-Hrishikesh Mohan, VP of Sustainability Solutions at Centric Software.

According to Mohan, brands usually fall into one of three categories:

Category 1 – Beginners
Many brands still rely on fragmented spreadsheets, inconsistent supplier communication, and PDF certificates that get easily lost in email chains. Data exists, but it’s dissipated, stored across departments and systems that don’t talk to each other. As a result, even well-intentioned sustainability reporting becomes a manual, complicated process.

Category 2 – Movers
These are companies that have begun mapping their supply chains and adopting digital tools such as PLM systems or LCA platforms. Yet, integration remains the biggest roadblock. Design, sourcing, and compliance teams often work in parallel rather than in sync. Supplier visibility might reach Tier 2 or 3, but rarely the full journey from raw material to the finished design/ collection.

Category  3 – Leaders
The most advanced organizations, often those investing early in digital transformation, have synchronized their design, sourcing, and sustainability data. They can trace the origin of each material, verify their certifications in real time, and simulate product impact before a sample is made. In short, they’re already ready for DPP.

What stood out from the Summit was that those are not “utopic” leaders, they’re becoming the new frontline. The shift from compliance to competitiveness is already happening, and it’s moving fast.

Why Data Is the New Competitive Currency

The conversation around accountability often focuses on risk: avoiding penalties, staying audit-ready, managing reporting deadlines. Yet, as Sourcing Journal’s panelists emphasized, the real opportunity lies in how data will transform performance.

Reliable, standardized data enables brands to:

• Strengthen their credibility - Verified metrics reduce the risk of greenwashing and make sustainability claims auditable.
  
  

• Communicate confidently - Consumers are increasingly expecting transparency on origin, labor conditions, and impact.
  
  

• Improve efficiency - Data integration cuts duplication, accelerates sourcing, and supports faster decision-making.
  
  

• Attract investment - Financial markets are rewarding efficient, verified ESG performance.
  
  

In other words, data is no longer a by-product of production, it’s a strategic asset. Companies that can transform raw information into actionable insight have more advantages that can’t be replicated through marketing or visuals.
Or as one of the Summit’s participants put it: “In the next decade, the most trusted brands will be the most transparent.”

Understanding Digital Product Passports, and the 2027 Deadline:

So what exactly is a Digital Product Passport?

DPP is a digital ID that travels with the product throughout its lifecycle. It compiles key information, from fiber origin and certification to the carbon footprint and recycling instructions, all of this into one verified record that is accessible via QR code or database link.

The European Commission plans to make DPPs mandatory for textile products by 2027, affecting every brand that sells into the EU market. Similar frameworks are already under discussion in North America.

The implications are massive. Each garment will require:

• Verified supplier and material data.
  
  

• Traceable environmental and social impact information.
  
  

• Proof of certification validity and chain-of-custody documentation.
  
  

For global brands sourcing from hundreds of suppliers, this means moving beyond manual audits towards interconnected digital systems capable of aggregating verified data at scale.
At the Summit, several speakers agreed that Digital Product Passports represent a chance to redesign the industry’s information flow. Instead of data disappearing after a transaction, it becomes part of the product’s DNA, accessible to every stakeholder.

Real-World Applications

To understand how this plays out in practice, imagine a mid-size European womenswear label sourcing from suppliers in Portugal and Turkey. Historically, the brand’s sustainability data was handled in separate spreadsheets by each regional office. Certificates expired without notice; product impact metrics were estimated months after production.

By moving entering the Ecosystem, our connected digital platform, the brand gains:

• Certification tracking. Updated GOTS or OEKO-TEX documents are recorded and reviewed, keeping profiles current and ready for brand review; 

• Product-level impact metrics. Integrated Eco-impactor analytics provide water, CO₂, and material efficiency insights for every fabric;
  
  

• Automated passport creation. Once a collection is finalized, the DPPs are generated with verified supplier and impact data, ready for audit or consumer display.
  
  

What once required dozens of manual steps becomes a continuous, reliable data flow. The supplier benefits from increased visibility and faster brand approvals as the brand gains compliance readiness and a stronger narrative. 

Why Collaboration Beats Competition in Traceability

One of the strongest takeaways from this Summer Summit was that traceability can’t be achieved in isolation. Data silos, technological or cultural, often slows the progress. 

World Collective’s ecosystem was built around a different principle: sharing is caring.  When suppliers can upload verified data once and use it across multiple brand relationships, the entire system becomes a lot more efficient.

This supplier-first approach matters because most traceability systems were originally built for brands only. They imposed top-down reporting requirements that small and medium suppliers struggled to meet. By contrast, World Collective recognizes suppliers as equal data owners.

That inclusivity creates benefits such as better data accuracy through direct source input, reduced reporting fatigue for suppliers managing multiple buyers and faster brand onboarding through verified digital profiles.

But what does that mean in practice? You ask, well this collaboration closes the loop between compliance, sourcing, and storytelling which turns traceability into a shared competitive advantage rather than a cost center.

Connecting Data Readiness to Brand Growth

Therefore, traceability might start with regulation, but it ends with differentiation. Brands that invest in data readiness unlock several growth drivers:

• Speed-  Instant access to verified supplier data shortens development and sampling cycles.
  
  

• Market access-  Compliance-ready data enables smoother entry into regulated markets like the EU.
  
  

• Consumer engagement-  Digital Product Passports offer a new transparency channel, an interactive space where storytelling meets proof.
  
  

• Partnership credibility- Verified data builds stronger supplier and investor relationships, reinforcing long-term trust.
  
  

Centric Software’s insight from the Summit summarized it well: “The future of fashion will be decided by those who treat data not as a burden, but as a business advantage.”

How World Collective and Kinset Are Powering Data Readiness

At World Collective, we translate these insights into infrastructure. Our Digital Product Passport model, developed in partnership with Kinset, is designed to make traceability simple, accessible, and scalable for everyone.

• Suppliers upload certified materials and gain visibility with global buyers.
  
  

• Brands receive verified, standardized data ready for regulatory and consumer disclosure.
  
  

• Both sides save time, reduce waste, and strengthen accountability.
  
  

Through the Ecosystem, suppliers can generate EU-compliant DPPs, access automated impact insights through our Eco-impactor, and share data that directly supports brand reporting.
That’s how traceability is transformed into collaboration as an example of how technology humanizes fashion industry’s supply chains rather than complicates it. 

Building the Future:

The conversation sparked at Sourcing Journal’s Summit reflects a broader truth: the race for sustainability has evolved into a race for credibility.

As regulations close in and consumer expectations sharpen, brands that can trace, verify, and communicate their impact will define the next generation of market leaders. Yet, no single brand can build that future alone, it requires collective infrastructure, shared standards, and digital systems that connect everyone, from fiber producers to finished-goods manufacturers.

World Collective is leading that transformation by onboarding verified suppliers worldwide, offering transparent materials, diverse options of  MOQs, and automated compliance tools that help both sides stay ahead of regulation.

Because in this new era, transparency isn’t and can never be treated as a buzzword, it’s the one only business model. The next chapter of fashion won’t be powered only by creativity or sustainability, it will be powered by verified, visible, and shared data across a truly global ecosystem.