Featuring expert insights and commentary from Francesca Mangano, Head of CSR and Sustainability at TFG London.
For decades, the fashion industry wrestled with the challenge of ensuring responsible practices across its complex, multi-tier supply chains. From sourcing raw materials to producing final products, the industry has faced scrutiny for its environmental and ethical impacts. Today, a new era is emerging, where technology enables brands to address these challenges head-on, creating opportunities for innovation, accountability, and progress.
TFG London, a leading retail business known for its premium womenswear brands like Phase Eight, Whistles, Hobbs, and most recently White Stuff, exemplifies this shift. Recently we sat down with Francesca Mangano, Head of CSR and Sustainability at TFG London to discuss how leveraging Segura’s advanced supply chain transparency platform, has allowed the business to take meaningful steps toward building a more sustainable future, while ensuring compliance with evolving legislation. You can read the full Case Study here.
Transforming Sustainability through Technology
A crucial foundation for sustainability is transparency. TFG London recognised that effective supply chain management is not just about tracking products but about understanding the entire network of suppliers, materials, services, and processes involved. And with growing demands for data consolidation and ESG legislative reporting, it became evident that automation and real-time data integration were essential.
Enter Segura, a platform designed to deliver supply chain transparency, traceability, and compliance for businesses. Through its integration, Segura empowered TFG London to automate data collection across its supply chain, creating a centralised repository for supplier information, interactions, and more. This pivotal change not only reduced time and resource burdens but also elevated the entire supply chain management process.
Why Transparency Matters for Long-Term Sustainability
Transparency is no longer a "nice-to-have" feature for businesses; it is a necessity. Environmental regulations, human rights due diligence, and evolving consumer demands are reshaping the business landscape. For TFG London, transparency and traceability have been essential in navigating challenges and unlocking new opportunities.
By mapping its supply chain down to raw materials (Tier 4), TFG London has achieved noteworthy progress toward its long-term sustainability goals:
- Compliance with current regulations such as the UK Modern Slavery Act and preparing for the upcoming EU Eco-design Regulation.
- Risk Mitigation by identifying specific vulnerabilities, such as geopolitical threats or environmental risks, and implementing mitigation tactics.
- Improved Collaboration with suppliers and ensuring alignment with TFG London’s sustainability strategies.
"We believe that building trusted partnerships with suppliers, enhancing transparency and taking a long-term approach in order to protect the planet for tomorrow. This means treating everyone fairly and with respect for mutual benefit, as well as ensuring our actions today meet this longer-term objective" said Francesca Manago, Head of CSR and Sustainability - TFG London, highlighting the importance of collaboration.
Driving Change with Four Key Sustainability Pillars
TFG London’s sustainability strategy revolves around four crucial pillars—Planet, People, Material, and Manufacture. Here’s how technology has supported the company's progress on each front.
Planet
- Goal: Reduce Scope 3 carbon emissions while addressing other environmental challenges such as water and chemical management.
- Impact: Segura’s transparency platform equips TFG London with the data to measure suppliers’ operational practices, identify emission hotspots, and establish measurable KPIs to target reduction.
People
- Goal: Protect human rights and fair labour standards across the supply chain while maintaining safe working conditions.
- Impact: By using supplier ratings and audit tracking features, TFG London can focus efforts on lower-rated suppliers, providing education and support to improve their standing.
Material
- Goal: Transition to 100% lower-impact and more responsible materials by 2030.
- Impact: With a transparent mapping of suppliers, services, and product flows, TFG London ensures nominated suppliers are being used and mitigates the risk of harmful practices.
Manufacture
- Goal: Collaborate with suppliers to enhance environmental practices and improve factory ratings to SMETA standards.
- Impact: The ability to track environmental metrics and factory audits helps TFG London create shared accountability and progress toward mutual sustainability goals.
The Benefits of Adopting Segura
Streamlined Operations
By automating data collection and consolidating it into a central platform, TFG London’s CSR and Sustainability team can now focus on strategy and rely on Segura to support them.
Enhanced Collaboration
Sharing real-time data with internal stakeholders has aligned sustainability efforts across teams, while supplier engagement has fostered a collective commitment to ethical practices.
Proactive Legislation Management
Preparing for pending regulations such as the EU Eco Design and Digital Product Passport, as well as addressing current requirements like the Modern Slavery Act has never been easier. TFG London’s due diligence efforts now rely on robust data, reducing compliance risks and supporting its strategic vision.
Data-Driven Decisions
From mitigating risks in high-risk locations to optimising production to reduce transport costs, TFG London is leveraging data insights to guide investments and supply chain strategies.
“We are now able to produce monthly reports looking at supplier locations and volumes, to track our impacts, progress and engagement. We are also able to report and review our progress annually which has been really beneficial and helps us to clearly show we are achieving our targets”
Francesca Mangano, Head of CSR and Sustainability – TFG London
Progress Over Perfection
While the road to sustainability remains an ambitious and evolving challenge, TFG London’s experience demonstrates the power of taking initial, well-strategized steps. The company emphasizes “progress over perfection,” understanding that fostering a mindset of continuous improvement, collaboration, and transparency is fundamental to meaningful change.
Segura, as a trusted partner, has played a transformational role in TFG London’s sustainability story, providing not only advanced technology but also an excellent support system. With a shared focus on ethical manufacturing, TFG London continues to pave the way for a future where sustainability is both good citizenship and good business.
Looking Ahead
With its long-term sustainability goals now underpinned by real-time, actionable data, TFG London is equipped to meet the demands of consumers, regulators, and stakeholders alike. The integration of Segura not only addresses today’s challenges but also ensures that TFG London is prepared for emerging priorities and disruptions in the future.
For brands seeking inspiration to align people, planet, and business, TFG London’s story serves as a testament to the power of collaboration, transparency, and innovation. A reminder that you can read the full Case Study here
Make mapping your supply chain scalable, efficient and collaborative
In summary, gaining deeper transparency and traceability in your supply chain is best done using software like Segura, which is more scalable, efficient and collaborative than spreadsheets. Then your teams can focus on what matters most. It makes mapping your supply chain, managing your supplier network, mitigating risk and driving improvements a seamless process.
If your organisation is ready to reimagine its supply chain strategy, now is the time to explore how solutions like Segura can empower progress.
Contact Segura today to discover actionable strategies for your business.
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