The Sustainable Fiber Project:
Global Re-organization of a commodity from field to shelf

PROJECT BACKGROUND:

In 2005 the client had experienced success at retail with a limited qantity of sustainable home and apparel products. We built on this success, by assessing the clients global supply chain, working with the CEO to make the largest single purchase of organic cotton in history out of Eastern Turkey.

In the next 12 months our agricultural team worked closely with the client to create the first ever high volume “field to shelf” global supply chain of sustainable fiber in the U.S. market. This environmentally advanced supply chain generated products that offered a powerful new marketing opportunity: Attract a new “lifestyle” consumer to the store by offering organic / sustainable products, which typically carry a heavy premium, at a cost that everyday Americans could afford.

PROJECT BENEFITS:

Strengthened supply chain: Generated surety of supply and transparency of costing through “relationships based” sourcing..

Ensured the future of a strategic commodity: Peak oil capacity has created upward monetary pressures on petro-chemicaly based fields and man made fibers. Sustainable practices now insure price stability and supply.

Grew the  business: By offering new “values based” life style products to a largely female consumer that was historically shopping elsewhere.

Built the brand : Created business value by doing the right thing for people and the environment. The client had the opportunity to tell an authentic story  with a strong message to the consumer and media. (The project was featured in Forbes, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, etc.)

SCOPE OF WORK:

1. Assessment and Planning:

• Assessed retailer’s existing global fiber supply chain from “Field to Shelf.”
• Drafted an integrated  five-year “2010 Plan” for the product development, sourcing and marketing of sustainable fiber to fulfill a specific targeted  % of all textile products retailed by the client.

2. Technical Guidance:

• Identified key stakeholders world wide and convened them in an “Earth to Earth” summit. This resulted in the development of a full set of metrics measuring the environmental “Harm to Benefit” for the entire life cycle of textile products.
• Developed technical guidelines governing 3rd party verification and compliance for the growth of raw material and manufacturing of product.
• Created traceability system to track certified raw material purchases from field through manufacturing process to the shelf.
• Trained farming groups in 5 different countries in the sustainable management of their fields. Identified series of incentives for these same groups to encourage adoption of new methodologies. (Community fund, long term contracts, purchase of food rotation crops, etc)

3. Implementation and Integration:

       Sourcing:

• Identified 8  de-centralized countries world-wide where development of raw material stocks would be concentrated. Customized methodology for a range of agro-ecological and climatic regions.  (China, Brazil, Turkey, India, Pakistan, U.S.A., Uganda and Tanzania.)
• Coordinated all details with client’s global procurement offices for the purchase of raw material. More than trebled volumes in an 18 month period.
• Developed detailed plan and management tools for flow of goods from fields into spinning operations, and from there into a wide range of final production facilities. 

       Product Development:

• Identified “low hanging fruit” product categories for sustainable fiber by gender, age group and brand. We then established quantities per season to align purchases with supply.  In addition, we created seasonal style and specification guides for product developers and buyers.

       Marketing:

• Identified key product launches for 2007, with which would pilot new efforts to raise awareness for clients sustainability effort and attract a targeted new consumer.  To support this effort, we created a sustainable products marketing roadmap with a detailed plan to communicate the eco-social value of the products to the clients customers.