Textile Exchange Opens 2026 Materials Benchmark to Tier 1–3 Apparel Suppliers
Textile Exchange has opened its 2026 Materials Benchmark to both members and non-members, including brands, retailers and Tier 1–3 suppliers. The annual reporting framework asks participating companies to measure their raw-material use and the progress they are making toward preferred production pathways.
For apparel manufacturers, the expanded participation matters because material data is increasingly moving from a brand-level sustainability exercise into day-to-day sourcing, product-development and supplier-management work. A factory that can connect fiber claims to purchase records, bills of materials and transaction evidence will be better prepared for buyer questionnaires and future assurance requirements.
What changed in the 2026 benchmark
Participants are expected to report the material categories that make up roughly 80% of their total raw-material volume. Textile Exchange has also updated other questions to focus more closely on progress toward preferred production pathways.
Company rankings and benchmark results for reported material volumes will remain confidential in 2026, and there will be no public-facing Material Change Index. That confidentiality gives companies room to identify gaps, but it does not reduce the need for accurate and traceable inputs.
From 2027, reporting is planned to become exclusive to Textile Exchange members and mandatory for brands and retailers in its Action Cohort. Mandatory participation for Tier 1–3 suppliers is expected later, making 2026 a useful preparation window.
What apparel suppliers should prepare now
- Map the biggest material categories first. Rank cotton, polyester, nylon, wool, man-made cellulosics and other fibers by annual volume so the team can identify the categories that cover the required majority.
- Use consistent units and definitions. Agree how kilograms, meters, garment weights, blends and waste are converted before combining purchasing records from different sites or vendors.
- Connect data to products and suppliers. A total-volume spreadsheet is more useful when each entry can be traced to a purchase order, bill of materials, mill, certificate or transaction document.
- Separate preferred claims carefully. Recycled, organic, regenerative and certified material claims should be recorded with their applicable standard, scope, validity period and supporting evidence.
- Assign ownership. Merchandising, procurement, sustainability, finance and production teams often hold different parts of the dataset. One owner should coordinate definitions, deadlines and quality checks.
Why buyers should involve manufacturers
Brands cannot build a reliable material inventory from top-line declarations alone. Manufacturers and fabric suppliers hold the operational evidence behind fiber composition, order volumes, substitutions and production losses. Bringing them into the reporting process early can reduce inconsistent answers and last-minute document requests.
For OEM and ODM partners, the commercial value is practical: faster response to buyer data requests, clearer material claims during development and fewer disputes when specifications change. Suppliers do not need to wait for mandatory reporting to start. A focused pilot covering the largest material categories can reveal where purchase records, BOM data and chain-of-custody documents fail to align.
