When Nudie Jeans, the Swedish denim and apparel brand, launched their online Production Guide, we took notice. The guide provides a cross-section of information on every product for sale on the Nudie Jeans site: not only where each piece is made, but also detailed information about suppliers, photos of production facilities and downloadable results from internal audits that include, notably, areas in need of improvement. The result is a user-friendly portal that holds Nudie Jeans accountable with complete transparency and traceability.

We spoke with Henrik Lindholm, CSR Manager for Nudie Jeans, about how the Production Guide came to be, and what all clothing labels should be required to disclose about the where’s and how’s of their supply chain.

FTF: What was the impetus to launch the Production Guide online?

Henrik: Simply put, without being transparent we could not show what Nudie Jeans is about. Since Nudie Jeans was founded in 2001, there was a deep effort from the very start to work very closely with the production of our garments, knowing all our suppliers and working extremely close with them. This was the reason we also started out making our jeans in Italy and our tops in Portugal. We would not have been able to work so closely with them if they had not been this geographically close. Having put this much effort into our supply chain, we wanted to be able to show this, and since we have independent verifications of the working conditions through our membership in Fair Wear Foundation, it was a comfortable decision and movement to being completely open and transparent.

FTF: How did it come together logistically?

Henrik: Once the decision was made to launch the Production Guide, it didn’t need a lot of work apart from the technical aspect of creating the webtool. The basic data on the supply chain was already in our hands as well as a complete supplier list which included all subcontractors. At that point, all our suppliers and almost all subcontractors had been audited regarding working conditions and had been independently verified by the multistakeholder initiative Fair Wear Foundation. With so much effort and work into securing a strong and tight supply chain network, it felt like a waste not being open about it. And if we wanted to be open about it, we also needed to be willing to talk about the things that needed improvements. TOTAL transparency.

Of course, it takes some work and time to keep the guide updated. Currently there is one person working full time on CSR issues, and this is also the person who updates the Production Guide for each major season (two times per year – Fall and Spring). Admittedly a lot more time could be spent updating, and writing better and more detailed audit reports, but right now we are focusing more on making the guide go even further and deeper up the supply chain so that it is possible to see where all fabrics and trims are made as well. The Production Guide is still a work in progress and we are aware that there are several areas for improvement. To make the Production Guide work smoothly, there is still some work behind the scenes on logistics and business management system which is needed. Essentially, it is a work in progress and we are continuously learning how to improve upon each improvement.

FTF: How informed about traceability and socially responsible production have you found the Nudie Jeans customer to be?

Henrik: We don’t know for certain and we don’t have any plans to find out either. So far, we have not made any customer surveys regarding our sustainability work. When Nudie Jeans took the decision to produce our denim from organic cotton from day one, this was not a trigger or reaction by customer demand and we have not analyzed if this has paid off from a sales perspective either. We think it will in the long term, but right now we are doing it because we think it is the right thing to do. Simply put, this is just how we work.

If we were to speculate however about the awareness of the Nudie Jeans customer, our guess would be that our loyal customers do care about where we produce our garments and the working conditions in our supply chain. This can be deduced from customer questions in our own stores. Interestingly, a researcher at the University of Gothenburg looked into the buying behavior of those visiting the Production Guide online. It turned out that customers who read about our products in the Production Guide bought for twice as much, so perhaps it already has an actual impact on our sales.

FTF: What do you think are the bare minimum requirements for transparency that all brands should share with their customers?

Henrik: The bare minimum should reveal where the product is made, at least to the level of first tier suppliers. But even that can sometimes be too little. If all the parts for a product are made all over the world and just the assembly is made in, let’s say, Sweden, it can easily be seen as a bit dishonest to make a big statement of the “made in Sweden” component. If you want to be transparent, you have to go all the way, otherwise it might just be seen as misleading and also how effective really is just a standard list of suppliers to the end audience?