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Ettos bags ‘Innovate UK’ grant for textile traceability platform

Tech start-up Ettos has secured grant funding from the UK’s innovation agency Innovate UK as part of its Creative Catalyst programme to accelerate the development of its innovative textile traceability platform, which aims to revolutionise transparency and traceability in the textile industry.

With the funding from Innovate UK, Ettos plans to further develop its platform to help brands seamlessly integrate Digital Product Passports (DPPs) into their operations.

This, it believes, will enable businesses to comply with incoming legislation, mandating greater transparency and traceability within the supply chain.

The start-up shared that a key feature of the Ettos platform is its ability to support DPPs, which are set to become essential under upcoming legislation in the EU. According to Ettos, by adopting DPPs, brands can meet legal requirements while building trust with consumers who increasingly demand sustainable and ethical products.

Ettos explained that its founders, a sibling duo of Adriana Romano Batty and Gianni Romano, combined their expertise in fashion technology and sustainability to develop a software solution that addresses one of the fashion industry’s biggest challenges: ensuring transparency throughout the supply chain.

The Ettos platform uses advanced technology to track and verify the journey of textiles from raw material to finished product. This helps consumers make informed purchasing decisions and enables brands and manufacturers to meet growing demands for sustainability and ethical production practices.

Adriana Romano Batty, co-founder of Ettos, remarked: "To receive recognition and backing from Innovate UK is incredibly affirming that our vision of a transparent textile industry is achievable. We believe transparency is key to driving sustainable practices and Innovate UK’s support will be a huge catalyst towards making that a reality."

Gianni Romano, co-founder of Ettos, added: "The grant will allow us to integrate cutting-edge technologies that enhance the application and scalability of our platform, helping brands to drive comprehensive sustainability strategies with material claim tracking and supply chain mapping all in one place."

In July, PicoNext, an end-to-end platform for brands to engage with customers using Digital Product Passports, launched an AI Assistant to help companies more efficiently gather and organise DPP product data.