What kind of organisation is Sourcery?

Sourcery is a for-profit member-owned global sourcing solution and digital trade platform that connects brands, manufacturers, traders and growers who are committed to transacting with more transparency, fairness and efficiency by adopting the Direct-to-Grower™ Solution to trade.

We are organised and registered as a corporation (Sourcery Group, Inc) in the United States that serves as our global parent organisation. Sourcery maintains various global subsidiaries across the regions in which it operates.

Sourcery revenue is generated via membership contributions and transaction-based ‘Transformation Fee’ deposits paid by our Grower Partners (owners of Sourcery).

Sourcery does not directly accept philanthropic donations, grants or subsidies of any kind to drive forward to transformation of trade for good as it believes that commercial trade holds the value that is needed to drive commercial, social and environmental impact at scale.

Who are Sourcery’s Partners?

Sourcery Commercial Partners include brands, retailers, manufacturers, traders, grower organisations and individual growers who are involved in the growing, manufacturing, purchasing and sale of fibre, yarn, fabric and finished goods. Sourcery also welcomes Impact Imparters and Assurance Partners who support our Commercial Partners.

Our Commercial Partners are also Sourcery owners via the Sourcery Stock Option Subscription Programme whereby membership contributions and transactions volumes earn Equity Credits and are converted into common stock during the first five (5) years of membership.

Is Sourcery a trader or agent?

Sourcery is a global sourcing solution and trade platform that connects brands, manufacturers, traders and growers who are committed to transforming trade for good. Sourcery’s team of Engagement Professionals serve our Partners as commercially neutral trade intermediaries and facilitators.

We support our Partners to ensure transactions on fibre, yarn and fabric are more transparent, fair and efficient and deliver impact at scale.

Sourcery does not directly purchase or sell any fibre, yarn and fabric or receive commissions on the sale of fibre, yarn and fabric.

Is Sourcery a multi-stakeholder initiative?

Sourcery is a for-profit corporation owned by our Partners and employs a unique two-tier governance that includes a Board of Directors and an Advisory Council.

Similar to a multi-stakeholder organisation, yet as existing and future shareholders our Partners play an active and critical role in the development of solutions, initiatives, policies, products and services offered through Sourcery then traditional shareholders of a corporation.

Appointed by the shareholders, the Board of Directors is composed of nine (9) individuals who lead and steward the organisation and appoints the executive team.

The Advisory Council is made of representative Partners across five (5) Partner types who are elected by the shareholders in each respect Partner category of Brand Partners, Manufacturer Partners, Trade Partners, Grower Partners and Impact Partners. The Advisory Council makes annual recommendations to the Board of Directors on strategic direction of the organisation and holds no fiduciary or legal responsibility for the company.

Each Partner holding shares is a voting shareholder in the corporation based on the number and type of shared owned. If you are interested in having a copy of the Bylaws and Governance overview please contact us.

Does Sourcery measure and report on impact?

Sourcery supports our Partners with the collection of high-quality primary verified farm, facility, chain-of-custody (traceability) data via the Impact and Assurance Programme and Connect App.

As a commercially neutral trade facilitator and intermediary, Sourcery does not interpret, analyize, score, make value judgments or issue impact reports itself.

Instead, it relies only on qualified third-parties who are welcome to join Sourcery as Impact Partners to measure and report on the commercial, social and environmental progress of Partners. These organisations include multi-stakeholder organisations, standards, certification organisations, social, environmental and climate impact assessment firms, agronomic and extension service organisations and third-party verifiers and testing laboratories who support our Partners in the transformation of trade for good.

Is Sourcery a traceability solution or blockchain?

The Connect App includes the groundbreaking Trade feature that allows our Partners (users) to remit orders, enquiries, offers and settle both spot, future and forward contracts digitally and in real-time. The Connect App is not a traceability solution and does not publically report on chain-of-custody, volume reconciliation, yet does capture the required data, documents, images that allow third-party solution providers to do this on behalf of our Partners.

As part of this process, the selling party is required to upload all relevant transactional documents including invoices, bill of lading, certificates of conformity (phytosanitary, scope certificates, etc.), packing lists and quality reports, images, etc. following a confirmed order on fibre, yarn, fabric and finished goods. This information is stored in the sellers (user) Personal Data Value (PDV) on the Connect App. The seller can choose to share or sell this information with any traceability solution provider or database as they choose including Textile Genesis, FibreTrace, TrusTrace. An API or data bridge can be built between teh Bluenumber system into any third-party database that meets the requirements set forth by Sourcery on data rights, ownership, storage and use.

Who owns the data?

The personal, location, transactional, farm, and facility data collected via Connect App under the Transparent Trade and the Impact and Assurance Solutions is owned and fully by the data originators that remit and originate the data (e.g. “data originators”). This includes growers, manufacturers, trade, and brand Partners.

Data owners (“data originators”) have full rights to the data and the data is protected by GDRP in many cases and other international data use and privacy regulations.

The data is securely stored on the Personal Data Vault (PDV) of each user through the Bluenumber system and no third-parties, including Sourcery have direct access to this data without the expressed written consent of the owners. Data originators can choose to sell their data under license (or transfer the data under license for free) to other Partners.

Is Sourcery and Direct-to-Grower™ a standard or certification?

Recently, through its Direct-to-Grower™ Solution has developed the Direct-to-Grower™ Certified standard. The Direct-to-Grower™ Certified is a trade standard, providing our Partners with a continuous improvement framework to measure progress as they transform trade for good. Partners can earn Direct-to-Grower™ Certified Blue, Silver and Gold designations.

Using the The Direct-to-Grower™ Certified seals, Grower, Manufacturer, Trade and Brand Partners can be further recognised and rewarded by vendors, clients and brands by demonstrating their commitment to transforming trade for good through Sourcery.

Direct-to-Grower™ Certified is not a product, composition or sustainability claims standard and making such claims, directly or indirectly, are stictly prohibited for Partner members.

Sourcery welcomes all growers, everywhere (manufacturer and brands too) to participate in the Direct-to-Grower™ Certified. Direct-to-Grower™ Certified including those who are already certified to or licensed under Better Cotton, US Cotton Trust Protocol, CMiA, organic, etc.

We also welcome unaffiliated growers who are otherwise referred to as ‘conventional’ to participate in the Direct-to-Grower™ Solution and earn the Direct-to-Grower™ Certified designation.

Direct-to-Grower™ Certified Seal

The ‘Direct-to-Grower™ Certified’ is issued to organizations who become fully licensed under Direct-to-Grower™ Certified. There are prescriptive guidelines for each Partner type where and how the they can use the seal on its own or in relation to other standards and certifications as to prevent misunderstanding or communicate that Sourcery and Direct-to-Grower™ Certified is a product, composition or sustainability claims standard.