Austrian fiber firm Lenzing has a history of sharing kinetic energy with its fashion and textiles partners, inspiring continual re-ups for standards of environmental responsibility in the wider industry. More recently, deepened concerns about the credibility of eco-conscious marketing have brought Lenzing’s efforts to bolster traceability and transparency for the textiles market even further to the forefront.
Knowing that fashion’s greenwashing issue is best tackled at its roots, Lenzing has set out with the mission of helping its partners build trust and integrity into their sustainable product offerings.
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For brands and designers, electing to use Lenzing’s specialty wood-based fibers has long been a promise for full supply chain visibility – and a guarantee that the materials they’ve chosen meet the highest standards for resource efficiency and environmental and social responsibility. Leveraging the company’s Fiber Identification technology (a vital part of the fabric certification process that Lenzing offers its partners with the E-Branding Service platform), fibers under the TENCEL™ portfolio, Lenzing’s consumer-facing brand for textile fibers can be physically identified to their origins at the fabric and garment levels.
Still, communicating these touchstones to the increasingly sustainability-driven consumer is a separate challenge in its own right and brands and retailers have often been criticized for sustainability claims that end up misleading consumers. Working to optimize and streamline its E-Branding Service platform, Lenzing will be introducing a new suite of features that extend the benefits of its verification services to the finished garments, enabling brands to put forward better and more honest sustainability credentials.
“Since its launch in 2018, the Lenzing E-Branding Service platform has been our strongest tool in fostering traceability across the textile value chain,” said Harold Weghorst, vice president of global marketing and branding at Lenzing AG. “[The platform’s] latest upgrades are helping to digitalize value chain management for textiles, but more than that, it’s enabling a greater ability to be transparent with how and where products are made, all while remaining convenient and seamless for our partners.”
Complementing the platform’s existing services – fabric certification, application for product licenses, and access to branding materials – the newest upgrades to the E-Branding Service are built to offer a better user experience to value chain users. Upgrades to the Lenzing E-Branding Service include Artwork Approval, Fiber Blending Quick Check Tool, Onboarding Tool, E-Branding Master Class, and E-Branding Helpdesk.
“Lenzing often engages its customers around the globe to obtain feedback about its services,” said Daniel Leong, global head of digital customer experience at Lenzing. “The recent upgrades are the fruits of our continuous efforts to enhance the customer experience. Items such as the E-Branding Helpdesk, E-Branding Master Class and Fiber Blending Quick Check Tool greatly strengthen the platform in the areas of customer support and education, and in the case of Artwork Approval also increases efficiency for brands and retailers. There will be even more to come in the near future.”
The newly added Artwork Approval process will offer greater efficiency for brands and retailers. The teams behind the update shared that the service was launched to address the growing need for co-branded marketing content with a fast turnaround on artwork confirmations. As more consumers become aware of greenwashing, providing enhanced descriptions of the sustainability elements in products has become a necessity for brands. Lenzing has seen the number of applications for fabric certifications, product licenses and swing tickets in the E-Branding Services platform grow by nearly 1.5 times annually since 2017.
Moreover, to ensure effective labeling, the upgraded platform’s Fiber Blending Quick Check Tool provides accurate labeling of product ingredients. With the tool, fabric manufacturers can easily check whether the planned fiber blend of a specific fabric is in accordance with the Lenzing Certification Standards. Correct Lenzing fiber brand verification is also possible on the tool, which the company encourages brands to use in promoting final products to consumers.
Notably, all visitors can view the Fiber Quick Check Tool on the E-Branding Service landing page and does not require registration.
To support the increasing number of users from different regions, the new Onboarding Tool features a series of step-by-step guides that directs the user on how to use the E-Branding Service platform features. Live webinars and self-study learning modules cover certification and licensing of Lenzing’s TENCELTM, VEOCELTM and LENZINGTM ECOVEROTM brands. The aids are recorded in English with subtitles available in 10 languages. For more one-on-one help, the platform has also added the E-Branding Helpdesk, which provides users with support from a dedicated team of specialists.
The Lenzing E-Branding Service Platform can be accessed via brandingservice.lenzing.com/en/login.