Transparency as the foundation of sustainability
Transparent with partners
One of the greatest challenges for companies that work on sustainability is transparency. If you are serious about sustainability, you should have nothing to hide. That can be tricky sometimes, while you can’t know everything either. As a company, you are often part of a larger supply chain. To be able to provide full disclosure, you also have to discuss this with your partners. This is something we regularly do at Blycolin. Besides this, we have made the origins of our products insightful. And that’s something we would like to share here.
Governments, NGOs and interested parties keep a close eye on companies: ‘can they live up to the expectations of what they promise?’ And they are right to do so, because you shouldn’t trust a commercial company based on face value. Especially not when it comes to such an important issue as a sustainable future. Merely shouting out you think sustainability is so important isn’t enough: such a claim has to be substantiated. We at Blycolin know that sustainability is only as credible as the degree to which you can show it. Therefore, that’s a number one priority for us.
“Shouting sustainability is important isn't enough"
This requires a total reversal. For instance, making insightful where raw materials come from, but also determining the true impact of products along their entire life cycle. In many cases, this requires information we didn’t have (yet) ourselves. Traditionally, companies purchase products or raw materials without asking questions about their exact origins. This is no longer an option. If we are not transparent ourselves, and also do not require transparency from our suppliers and partners, sustainable initiatives will be hard to realize.
Traceability
A vital part of transparency is openness about the origins of products and raw materials. In cooperation with Product DNA, Blycolin therefore works on making the origins of (the raw materials for) our products insightful to our customers. And, completely in line with our intention of transparency, we do not keep that information to ourselves.
Respect code
Through Respect-code.org, you can check the origins of some of our products. From the location the cotton is grown to the supplier that supplies it directly to Blycolin. We have set this up in a way that it is and stays current. Annually, a verification and, if needed, an update takes place. Based on the information of our partners and suppliers, we update the information in the overview, which then becomes publicly accessible. And that is practical transparency!
