Frequently Asked Questions

GO TRACE is a private, independent initiative that aims to help the fashion industry achieve greater responsibility in line with Goal 12.6 of the Sustainable Development Goals. This goal promotes sustainable practices to reduce the environmental impact of production and consumption. GO TRACE offers companies in the sector an ongoing, multi-year assessment program to evaluate their traceability and value chain transparency practices.

The GO TRACE badge is a way for a company to show that it cares about transparency and traceability and is making continuous action in these areas. It is awarded to companies that comply with the Garment Open Traceability Initiative and that meet the processes established by the programme.

Traceability, which can lead to more transparency, is a powerful tool for sustainability, and there is an increasing interest in it from governments, investors, consumers, and other stakeholders alike. It is also an effective strategy for preventing greenwashing. Nonetheless, we understand that achieving traceability in the fashion sector is difficult. As a result, we've created a progressive and pragmatic evaluation system that identifies and rewards organizations that care about traceability and transparency and encourages them to continuously pursue their efforts.

Receiving a badge from an independent third party is valuable because it can instil trust in a wide range of stakeholders, including investors and buyers. According to our survey results, most consumers (from Italy, France, the UK and the US) would prefer to buy a garment with the GO TRACE tag over one without. In fact, the majority of consumers were willing to pay more for a product bearing this sign. The survey also revealed that consumers understand the concept of traceability and are interested in learning more about a company's efforts to achieve it. As a result, fashion brands that are genuinely committed to traceability and transparency stand to benefit significantly from the GO TRACE badge.

The application is open to all brands offering products in the textile and fashion industries worldwide.

The GO TRACE procedure is divided into two phases. In the first phase, the company adheres to the GO TRACE Initiative and declares its intention to pursue greater traceability and transparency while providing a pragmatic description of its current stage. At that point, the company receives a one-year GO TRACE PENDING badge. This badge can only be used in communications, not on actual products.

In the second phase, within nine months of the initial application phase, the company must demonstrate its commitment to traceability through actions. A wide panel of independent experts, proportional to the size of the company, considers and evaluates the actions and proofs, and if the outcome is positive, the company is awarded the final GO TRACE badge, which can be used on all of the company's products for the following year.

If a company's evaluation result is not favorable, GO TRACE will provide a set of recommendations. The company can choose to implement these recommendations and reapply for the badge. An unfavorable result will not be published without the company's consent.

Every year, the company must show consistent progress towards significant traceability and transparency. This could result from either quantitative or qualitative advancements. After company approval, all results are publicly shared on our website in a dedicated space accessible via a QR code.

The QR code leads to a page that describes how the brand badge was obtained, how long it will be valid and why it matters. Each entity is entitled to its own QR code.

A company can apply for the GO TRACE badge from anywhere in the world at any time.