Supply Trace

Supply Trace is an open-access tool that identifies potential risks in global supply chains to enable effective due diligence and accountability. The tool was created to incentivize and enable businesses, and other stakeholders, to mitigate and provide remedy for adverse human rights and climate impacts in global supply chains. It does this by highlighting potential risks in specific production locations and presenting the data in an accessible, open platform. Supply Trace is available for anyone with an interest in understanding and improving supply chain conditions. Users include companies, civil society, governments, trade experts, human rights defenders, lawyers, auditors, advocates, journalists, researchers and more. Currently a research project incubated at Northeastern University, the Supply Trace methodology has been developed by academic subject matter experts. The base layer of trade data in Supply Trace consists of shipping and bill of lading data, with machine learning automating the process of mapping relationships deep into supply chains, beyond tier 1. This is overlaid with a layer of desk-based research intelligence, conducted by a team of expert researchers who have lived experience of the issues Supply Trace seeks to address. The pilot phase of the product was launched in March 2024 and focuses on identifying Uyghur forced labor risk in apparel supply chains. Supply Trace will progressively expand to other sectors, affected regions and categories of risk, with a focus on the implications of climate change and how people working in global supply chains will be affected.