#82 From farm to finished product: How to build a supply chain you can trust

What does it really take to build a transparent supply chain?

In this episode of The Better Business Show, host Tom Idle dives deep into one of the most urgent and complex challenges facing brands today: how to create truly traceable, accountable, and credible supply chains – from the farm to the factory to the finished product.

With global regulations tightening and consumer expectations rising, transparency is no longer a box-ticking exercise; it’s a business necessity. But building that visibility, especially in commodities like cotton, is far from simple. It takes technology, policy understanding, and human collaboration on the ground.

To unpack all of this, Tom is joined by two leading voices:

• ​Prakash Philip, Global Director, Strategy and Impact, CottonConnect, who shares real-world experience from working with 800,000+ farmers across South Asia to implement digital traceability tools and regenerative practices that brands can trust.
• ​Baptiste Carrière-Pradal, Founder of 2B Policy, who explains the shifting global regulatory landscape, including Europe’s evolving sustainability rules – and why legislation, more than ever, is driving the corporate race toward transparency.

Together, they explore:

• ​How brands are meeting rising demands for traceability and ethical sourcing
• ​What new regulations (like CSRD and anti-forced labor laws) mean for your business
• ​The realities of tracking cotton and other commodities from field to product
• ​Why traceability must go hand-in-hand with sustainability and impact
• ​What tools, technologies, and partnerships are making it all possible
• ​The role of data, verification, and storytelling in building consumer trust

Whether you're a sustainability lead, a sourcing manager, a policymaker – or simply curious about what transparency looks like in practice – this episode breaks down the challenge and opportunity ahead.

💡 Get ready to rethink what it means to truly know your supply chain.

This episode is supported by CottonConnect. To find out more visit, www.CottonConnect.org