Glossary of Traceability Terms: AAFA Brings a Common Language to Traceability

Recently, Angela Rhea, VP of Product and Industry Consulting, and Jono Blackmore, Senior Enterprise Sales Executive, represented TradeBeyond as active participants in the American Apparel & Footwear Association's (AAFA) Traceability Working Group and the Solutions Providers Advisory Group. Alongside brands, suppliers, technology providers, and other industry experts, Angela and Jono helped shape the newly released Global Apparel, Footwear & Accessories Industry Glossary of Traceability Terms - bringing TradeBeyond's real-world experience to an industry-wide effort to create a common language for traceability.

This glossary came together through a collaborative effort with brands, suppliers, technology providers, and compliance experts all contributing.

Why An Industry Glossary of Traceability Terms Matters

Traceability rules are evolving fast, and the definitions have not been aligned, until now.

Putting all of that together, there's a lot of room for misunderstanding between brands and suppliers -even when they're speaking the same language. Just put yourself in the suppliers’ shoes, where you have 10-15 customers asking you for the same thing, but all using different terms… Sounds confusing, right? Thanks to AAFA’s coordination efforts, the glossary is a huge first step in aligning the Traceability industry. It gives the industry one shared set of definitions to work from, no matter where you're operating or which customer is requesting. And since it's fully open-source, anyone can use it.

A huge thank you to AAFA, to Nate Herman, executive vice president at AAFA, for keeping everyone organized and moving forward, and to every working group participant who showed up with their expertise to get this done.

Access the glossary here on the AAFA website.

As new regulations roll out and supply chains get more interconnected, having a shared vocabulary is going to matter more, not less. It's a small thing that makes a big difference - helping teams communicate clearly, stay aligned, and move through compliance with more confidence.

We're grateful for the chance to be part of this initiative, and we're committed to supporting greater transparency and collaboration across global supply chains.