Will transaction certificates be phased out by eTransactions? 

There are currently no plans to phase out transaction certificates. There are use cases for both transaction certificates and eTransactions.  

Transaction certificates are an established approach, so it is business as usual for certified organizations using Textile Exchange standards. No change is required, and traceability is offered as a value-add. As a certificate-based solution, transaction certificates are flexible and cater to the dynamic and fragmented nature of the textile supply chain where there are frequent changes to business rules and suppliers, and marginal suppliers are at play. eTransactions are the next evolution of this existing model, but we recognize that there may always be the need for a more traditional supply chain approach.  

eTransactions offer real-time digital tracking of physical transformative movements of certified material. As a solution that uses tokens centrally managed in one system, it requires entire supply chains (i.e. raw material source through the brand) to transition to a new way of working on a single platform. Business rules are built in for automation efficiency best suited to stable and established supply chains moving large volumes. Transaction certificates thus cater to those supply chains not ready or possible to completely engage at this level but will not have the efficiency and product-level data that eTransactions provide.   

A certified organization should choose a transaction verification that best suits its supply chain. Alternatively, it may opt to use both. An important note in making this decision is that currently, dTrackit and eTrackit are standalone, meaning certified materials that are verified in one mechanism cannot be mixed with the other.