TrusTrace Unveils New Sustainability Due Diligence Solution For Retailers
Supply chain traceability software vendor TrusTrace, along with several retailers, has launched a new human rights and environmental due diligence self-assessment questionnaire for the apparel and footwear sector, facilitated by One Retail Hub, a new free digital platform. This solution offers several key features:
- A unified platform for data exchange to eliminate duplicative reporting burdens that strain suppliers and brands, particularly SMEs.
- AI-assisted completion that pulls from existing sustainability reports and documentation to pre-populate answers and allow brands to share responses with multiple retailers.
- Data-driven mechanisms to identify gaps, offering real-time results and tailored recommendations for effective remediation and corrective measures, transforming compliance into continuous improvement.
For fashion brands operating across jurisdictions, this shared infrastructure creates an industry-wide baseline for ethical and responsible sourcing, aligning the sector on best practices and efficiency in an increasingly complex reporting landscape.
Due diligence regulations increasingly impact market access
Pressure is accelerating amid legislation such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) and the US Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). These regulations, among others, require firms to identify, assess and remediate human rights and environmental risks across their value chains – or face fines, import bans and product seizures.
Forced labour product enforcement action is escalating: since 2024, US customs has detained over 13,300 shipments valued at just under $2 billion, with apparel, footwear and textiles among the most impacted industries. As 55% of firms are exposed to forced labour risks and 60% of sourcing markets face high or extreme environmental risks, retailers that can evidence proactive due diligence will be better placed to maintain market access.
Role of audits
Reliable third‑party audits and demonstrable social compliance programmes are essential evidence in the face of due diligence demands. However, supplier audit fatigue is a major challenge. In response, collaborative audit models such as the US Supplier Compliance Audit Network (SCAN) enables retailers and importers to rely on and share one agreed supply chain security and social compliance audit across members. For retailers, plugging into shared audit infrastructures can enhance risk coverage, address due diligence concerns, improve visibility into suppliers and free up capacity to focus on continuous improvement.
Emerging ecosystems
Services-plus-software due diligence ecosystems that fuse digital solutions and targeted on‑site audits into an end‑to‑end risk management model are emerging. Providers are increasingly integrating industry-specific digital tools into sustainability due diligence service delivery:
- SGS has partnered with EcoVadis on a supply chain audit offering that combines ESG ratings, AI‑driven risk screening and EcoVadis’s Worker Voice channels, with targeted on‑site investigations.
- ADEC Innovations’s supply chain data management and reporting solution, CleanChain, is designed for firms in fashion and apparel, electronics, and other resource-intensive industries.
- QIMA has partnered with Kavida.ai for real-time supply chain alerts, Retraced for fashion traceability and Ulula for worker surveys, while its QIMAone solution supports supply chain collaboration and visibility.
Together, these integrated capabilities are becoming the new benchmark for enhanced sustainability due diligence by offering retailers data‑driven oversight of social and environmental risks across their value chains.
To learn more about sustainability due diligence across supply chains, look out for the upcoming Buyer’s Guide: Sustainability Assurance And Due Diligence Services (2026), and read the following reports:
About The Author
Jessie Wilson
Industry Analyst
