PTC and Made2Flow have teamed up to supply FlexPLM customers access to environmental impact measurements technology, which PTC said will help fashion retailers and types to “significantly speed up impact reduction across scope 3 [emission goals].”

The businesses said the collaboration will enable users of its FlexPLM platform customers to have access to “transparent, science-based impact measurements at scale, to assist them drive more environmentally responsible decisions during design and product development.” PTC said brands and retailers “rely heavily on generalized averages and generic environmental data sets as a consequence of a scarcity of transparency and data gaps across the provision chain.”

PTC said this integration occurs because the apparel, footwear and retail industry faces “increased pressure from consumers, government regulators and even investors to significantly reduce their environmental footprint.” This has led retailers and types to commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions in addition to water use. “Achieving these goals requires corporations to make more sustainable material and product development decisions,” PTC said in a press release.

Made2Flow, based in Germany, uses a textile database that has greater than 4 million primary data points, which is used for data validation purposes via greater than 78,000 combos of varied products and materials.

Bill Brewster, senior vp and general manager of PTC’s retail business unit, said the collaboration comes at a time “when brands and retailers are highly focused on sustainability and challenged to make more environmentally responsible decisions.”

Brewster said Made2Flow’s technology allows product teams “to grasp the environmental consequences of their design and development decisions earlier in the method, which enables them to proactively impact their Scope 3 reduction targets. Our collaboration with Made2Flow provides apparel and footwear manufacturers with science-based evaluation directly throughout the FlexPLM platform of how much CO2 (GHG) is released into the environment in each step of the manufacturing process, including water use and land use.”

He went on to notice that as product designers and managers make changes to the materials, “they routinely and seamlessly see the impact of those changes on the environment and may course correct if needed.”

Tal Shogol, chief executive officer of Made2Flow, praised the collaboration with PTC. “Especially in today’s marketplace where consumer needs are changing rapidly, it’s essential that brands have the flexibility to make informed decisions and share leads to confidence based on transparent, primary data-rich calculations,” Shogol said.