PROVENANCE, origin and source all denote the same thing and along with sustainability and traceability, these words have become the most important and widely valued words for businesses worldwide.
This recognition has not happened overnight, but has certainly been enhanced by the advent of the global pandemic and the ever-increasing focus on climate change and animal welfare issues.
It is no wonder then that the topic of sustainability has indelibly moved from the fringe of the fashion industry to the mainstream and has become a platform for brands to examine and scrutinise the environmental and social impacts of where they source their fibre and fabric.
According to Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), brand scrutinisation has occurred in response to significant pressure from global consumers and governments.
However, Australian wool has a great story to tell, and the wool industry is on the front foot in evidencing and promoting the natural fibre's credentials.
AWI understands Australian woolgrowers' onfarm practices align with the sustainability expectations of consumers and know that these claims are not hollow, with years of research and development being utilised on farms nationwide as proof of commitment to best practice production across all areas of farming and production.
The next logical step was to prove this to the world and according to emerging tech company Everledger, head of Australian and New Zealand region, Peter Hughes, AWI has taken a huge step in the right direction for the woolgrowers and the overall industry.
"It is amazing how fast people can adapt and adopt technology," Mr Hughes said.
He said this was never more apparent than now.
"We are an emerging tech business," he said.
"People have an idea of what the whole concept of digital transparency and provenance could mean and the idea of traceability is not new.
"But there are a lot of different stories around how that makes sense and in many a lot of what is out in the market is just another form of digital marketing.
"So it is just telling a story and in some cases the evidence to support that story just isn't there.
"That is a good segue into what we are doing with AWI and our desire to surface the data that is real in a supply chain, which is extensively distributed globally.
"And how do we help to ensure that anyone wanting to make claims associated with that supply chain has the verifiable data to back these claims up.
"That is the super interesting challenge and this is why AWI was very keen to explore, with us, exactly how a chain of custody tool could work."
The whole idea of chain of custody lends itself to the legal term - which helps to insinuate a very solid, trustworthy and factual transaction.
"Forward thinking brands have been aware for quite a few years, the need to start differentiating themselves by telling unique stories like that, particularly from the farm to market type context," Mr Hughes said.
He said the whole concept of a well-scripted story about a privileged supply chain with specially selected suppliers, offering finest quality products, was no longer enough to satisfy the modern day consumer.
Putting context and facts around these claims and stories, including real people and real participants was the starting point.
"It was a great way to start, because with digital technology people can access data in a way that five years ago we could not," Mr Hughes said.
"But now what is equally as important is those brands that are wanting to make that visible are also starting to realise that it must be real - it can't be fudged and claims must be legitimate.
"It is brand damaging if claims that are made by any party are proved to be incorrect or false - that is a real brand killing situation."
This has led to a collaboration between Everledger, a digital transparency company, and AWI to use blockchain as a solution to trace the wool chain of custody from farm to consumer.
"I think it is not just about being able to offer a window to an advertisement of a typical farm in Australia," Mr Hughes said.
"It is actually about being able to validate the journey of that material or product in a way that makes sense, both for a commercial customer, who is buying on a large scale, but also a brand that eventually receives that and wants to take that message through to a consumer.
"What is happening more recently is that even further detail that is becoming not just desirable but it is expected and demanded - the visibility around the impact and accreditations associated with the people who touch and object.
"Are they doing it in a way that is sustainable and good for the planet, inherent and compliant to human rights legislation which is becoming really important now for the brands down the other end of the supply chain, because they just don't want to have the risk that they're moving objects through that ultimately have these issues associated to them."
Mr Hughes said there was definitely a two-speed view - one which showcases the beautiful and legitimate and factual story of the journey of the material/product, which people can now see and consume in new ways - and the other element is to validate not only the journey but the credentials of those that participated.
The Australian wool industry and its partners may soon be able to trace the lifetime journey of authentic wool products, thanks to the partnership with Everledger.
Everledger, and AWI which is the parent organisation for The Woolmark Company, announced earlier this year their strategic collaboration to capture asset information along the wool supply chain in order to enable provenance and chain of custody verification using blockchain technology.
In line with AWI's push to promote traceability in support of the Australian wool industry, Everledger will build and host an Electronic Chain of Custody Tool (ECCT) on its platform.
The aim is to track and validate the exchange of ownership of selected wools as they move up the supply chain from farm, to overseas processing and through to finished products.
AWI is taking steps to protect Australian Merino's enviable reputation, with Merino sheep celebrated globally for producing the world's finest, softest and most beautiful wool.
According to AWI, Australia produces about 90 per cent of the world's fine apparel wool and contributes significantly to the Australian economy.
Mr Hughes said AWI's intent had always been industry accessibility throughout the venture.
"The reason AWI asked us to undertake this was for the good of the industry," he said.
"They wanted to take the initiative to understand more deeply the things that matter, associated with provenance and traceability and with the technology that actually enables this and what it can do.
"This will give them the position to be able to take that learning to industry and say, well this is what we have done and delivered as a result, this is what we have learnt is important and this is where we suggest we go next.
"And if next is onboarding and using what is being built, then that can be done.
"If it is about further engagement and collaboration with other industry stakeholders to strengthen it, then that can be done.
"I credit AWI with having the willingness to take the initiative to explore and learn for the good of the industry, and not rush to just put something into market that doesn't have the strength and engagement of key stakeholders, which is what we have done.
"When participants started to realise the lack of data and the lack of continuity of data, they started to realise they only had a piece of the puzzle in their hands.
"What we wanted to do was give them the opportunity to be able to look up and down the supply chain as they wish."
In this initial stage, ECCT will act as a proof of concept.
It will trace the journey of wool from farm to the end consumer, by identifying and capturing the necessary documentation at each stage of the value chain.
The ECCT will demonstrate sustainability and compliance best practices and provide more confidence on the authenticity and provenance of the wool product.
It means a retailer or end consumer could verify where and when in Australia the original wool was sourced.
Different participants at each stage of the supply chain will be able to connect through standardised data, in line with best practices for the apparel industry.
Recorded evidence can be used to demonstrate compliance, while participants can also explore additional technologies to enhance material and chain of custody integrity.
The specific technology being used is known as distributed ledger technology or blockchain.
So what exactly is blockchain?
"Most people may know blockchain through bitcoin," Mr Hughes said.
"But the capacity of the technology to demonstrate transactions between parties doesn't require you to transfer cryptocurrency, it just means that in real time you are engaging with a party and you are making visible that transaction, on a platform that has then the capacity to make that visible and immutable.
"So no one then can edit that document or delete that transaction.
"What that does is give a far greater source of truth that everyone can trust."
Basically blockchain is a process or system of recording information in a verifiable way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, cheat or hack the system.
Essentially a digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across an entire network of computer systems on the blockchain.
Each block in the chain contains a number of transactions, and every time a new transaction occurs on the blockchain, a record of that transaction is added to every participant's ledger.
The decentralised database managed by multiple participants is known as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).
Blockchain is a type of DLT in which transactions are recorded with an immutable cryptographic signature called.
This means if one block in one chain was changed, it would be immediately apparent it had been tampered with.
To corrupt a blockchain system, would require every block in the chain being changed, across all of the distributed versions of the chain.
Mr Hughes said one of the key benefits of this technology was the ability of the user to have real-time data.
"If you can use this technology to your advantage, most of the information can be accessed in real time," he said.
"The evidencing is there as it happens, which is completely transformational, in terms of how people can see and make decisions about who they wish to engage with to do business."
Mr Hughes said that was what they were trying to achieve in terms of making that valid, authentic, information to the surface in terms of Australian Merino wool.
"We are not building something to say, here you go, in three months we will be opening the doors," Mr Hughes said.
"That wasn't AWIs requirement for us, but at the same time we are not just researching, we are building a practical solution that can demonstrate value."
Animal welfare, eco credentials, regenerative and sustainable practices, organic practices and plastic pollution are terms everyone in the world needs to get used to, they also need to know Australian Merino wool is at the forefront of technology and best farming practice across all these fronts.
