TrusTrace receives 10.5 mn SEK funding from BackingMinds

Brands and retailers can not only use the platform to improve data collection and analysis work, but also to visualise and communicate this data towards the end-consumers in a reliable and cost-effective way. Traceability makes it possible to validate the amount of water used in production, greenhouse gas emissions, the presence of micro plastics or chemicals, social aspects such as child labour and hundreds of other factors that can help the end customer to make the right decision about their consumption, said TrusTrace in a press release.

As of today, TrusTrace has around 20 customers, including Swedish Houdini, Filippa K, Icebug and Fjällräven - all of which are fashion labels that have taken the lead towards sustainability. There are currently over 1500 registered factories from all over the world on the platform, which are all sourced through the brands.

"On the one hand, we see that consumers increasingly demand transparency and on the other, that the fashion industry struggles to collect, analyse, verify and visualise data throughout their value chain. For many of these brands, transparency will become a question of survival. The founders behind TrusTrace have created an impressively holistic solution that enables scalable impact, while opening up for brand new business models and increasing profitability," said Sara Wimmercranz at BackingMinds.

"Without the use of smart technology, it will be impossible to deliver traceability and transparency in a resource-efficient way. TrusTrace is the global leader in developing this type of technology," said Susanne Najafi of BackingMinds.

"Today, brands are also realising the benefits of circular business models such as re-commerce, renting and second-hand. In such models, being able to verify your product before and after it has been sold is of crucial importance. This is all made possible through TrusTrace's technology," added Najafi.

The journey of TrusTrace started when Saravanan Parisutham's parents discovered that the river and groundwater in their Indian hometown had turned purple due to the large amount of discharge from textile factories in the area. Sweden seemed like the perfect place for the founders to start, mainly due to the growing awareness amongst Swedish consumers and the willingness from Swedish brands to use sustainability as a means to secure long term profitability.

"I felt like I needed to solve the problem. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a global rather than a local task. The digital solutions that I built back then became the foundation of the company my friends Hrishi, Shameek, Madhava and I founded together," said Saravanan Parisutham, founder of TrusTrace.

"We couldn't have imagined a better investor than BackingMinds. Sara and Susanne have a deep knowledge and a wide network, especially within retail. They are also entrepreneurs themselves and are not afraid to roll up their sleeves. Just like us, they want to drive growth while also attempting to make the world a better place," said Shameek, CEO of TrusTrace.

TrusTrace was founded in 2016 by Saravanan, Hrishikesh, Shameek and Madhava. It is a platform that provides traceability as a service to the fashion and textile industry through the use of blockchain, AI/ML, BOTS and IoT. TrusTrace's headquarter is in Stockholm, with a Tech centre in Coimbatore, India. (PC)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India