About
Welcome to the Textiles Extension of the United Nations Transparency Protocol (UNTTP). This extension addresses the unique challenges of traceability, transparency, and sustainability in global textile and apparel value chains.
What is the UN Textiles Protocol?
The UN Textiles Protocol provides a shared data language and protocol framework to enable trusted exchange of product and process information across diverse stakeholders in textile supply chains—from raw material producers (such as cotton and wool growers) to spinners, weavers, dyers, garment manufacturers, brands, and retailers.
As the textile sector faces increasing demands from regulators, consumers, and industry partners to provide verifiable information about origin, production practices, labor conditions, and environmental impacts, this extension offers a standardized approach that:
- Reduces fragmentation and prevents duplication
- Ensures claims can be independently validated across organizational and geographic boundaries
- Supports interoperability with existing international standards and initiatives
- Enables data discovery, access, and verification across organizational systems
Key Capabilities
The Textiles Extension builds upon the core UNTP specification while introducing data structures, processes, and guidance specific to textile supply chains. It supports:
- Raw material traceability (e.g., cotton, wool, recycled fibers, synthetic materials)
- Transformation tracking (spinning, weaving, dyeing, finishing, and garment manufacturing)
- Sustainability and compliance indicators (chemical use, water consumption, labor and social compliance, certifications)
- Circularity and end-of-life practices (reuse, recycling, and disposal pathways)
Who Should Use This?
This extension is designed for:
- Industry stakeholders across the textile and apparel value chain
- Solution providers building systems for supply chain traceability and sustainability reporting
- Regulators and policymakers seeking harmonized mechanisms for data collection and compliance verification
- Civil society and consumers interested in credible, standardized information about textile products and their impacts
Learn More
Explore the following sections to understand more about the project:
- Purpose and Overview — Learn about the goals, benefits, and intended audience of the Textiles Extension
- Relationships to Other Initiatives — Understand how this extension relates to other standards and initiatives
- Ways to Participate — Discover how you can contribute to the development and adoption of the protocol
- Frequently Asked Questions — Find answers to common questions about the Textiles Extension
Getting Started
If you're new to the UN Textiles Protocol, we recommend starting with the Purpose and Overview page to understand the project's objectives and benefits. Then explore:
- The Specification section to learn about the technical details
- The Business Case to understand the value proposition for different stakeholders
- The Use Cases section to see how the Textiles Extension addresses real-world supply chain scenarios and implementation challenges