Thanks to Ctac and InRiver, Garcia achieves compliance with DPP and other regulatory requirements on time

The international jeanswear brand Garcia is required to comply with new sustainability legislation from the year 2025. The clothing brand has worked closely with Ctac to retrieve all necessary information from its systems on time and as a result, has successfully achieved the first milestone.

Providing consumers with the right data on schedule

A passion for jeanswear is what makes the international family-run company Garcia both unique and successful. The brand was established in 1972 in Urbania, Italy, after which it grew further in the Netherlands to become an international jeanswear brand with an extensive collection for men, women and children. The brand now operates in 28 countries.

Garcia has a strong focus on sustainability and aims to improve daily in this area for the entire family. Like so many other companies, this jeanswear brand is required to meet specific sustainability reporting deadlines. This includes European legislation such as the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), as well as legislation in the specific European countries in which Garcia operates. In France, for example, the new anti-waste law AGEC (Anti-gaspillage pour une économie circulaire) will take effect on 1 January 2025. This law aims to eliminate waste by promoting a circular economy and is a precursor to the European DPP (Digital Product Passport).

No double data or extra interfaces

Garcia considered various software platforms designed specifically for sustainability reporting. De Jong explains, “If we were to use those platforms, we would have to retrieve considerable data from different systems. This would result in double data and the use of extra interfaces, which would make the entire process needlessly complicated.”

“Together with Garcia, we decided to consider a solution within their existing application landscape,” says Christ Klinkenberg, who is responsible for DS PIM/DAM at Ctac. “We first assessed which product information was necessary to comply with the legislation and whether that information was already available in their own SAP and InRiver systems. Our analysis showed that 80 percent of the information was already available,” says Klinkenberg. “The remaining 20 percent could be enriched in InRiver from Excel files and suppliers.”

Although SAP offers numerous solutions for sustainability reporting like the CSRD, the system does not meet the specific requirements of AGEC and DPP legislation, which took precedence at Garcia. But the InRiver module Product Data Governance (PDG) met such requirements. De Jong adds, “Because Ctac has both extensive knowledge of our internal business processes and our SAP and InRiver systems, Ctac could complete this business case for us within a short time frame, an important advantage considering the tight deadline imposed by the AGEC.”

The first milestone has now been achieved. De Jong continues, “The required product information for the AGEC has been retrieved and enriched and the QR codes generated and delivered to the production location. As a result, the collection will have QR codes on the care label from January 2025. When a customer scans this code, an online product page opens with product information on composition and recyclability. So, we are now well prepared for the introduction of the AGEC in 2025 and ahead of the European DPP.”

Up to date with legislation and regulations thanks to Ctac

Although SAP offers numerous solutions for sustainability reporting like the CSRD, the system does not meet the specific requirements of AGEC and DPP legislation, which took precedence at Garcia. But the InRiver module Product Data Governance (PDG) met such requirements. De Jong adds, “Because Ctac has both extensive knowledge of our internal business processes and our SAP and InRiver systems, Ctac could complete this business case for us within a short time frame, an important advantage considering the tight deadline imposed by the AGEC.”

The first milestone has now been achieved. De Jong continues, “The required product information for the AGEC has been retrieved and enriched and the QR codes generated and delivered to the production location. As a result, the collection will have QR codes on the care label from January 2025. When a customer scans this code, an online product page opens with product information on composition and recyclability. So, we are now well prepared for the introduction of the AGEC in 2025 and ahead of the European DPP.”