New Balance: Advancing Multi-material Traceability Across Five Priority Categories

New Balance—a $7.8 billion privately held athletic footwear and apparel company—is the only major athletic shoe manufacturer that has consistently maintained U.S. factories since 1906. Operating across 115+ countries with 2,600 retail stores globally, the company manages a complex supply chain spanning diverse material categories including polyester (most commonly used), leather, cotton, rubber, and EVA.

Story Highlights

• Addressing multi-material complexity across five priority categories
• Trained all Tier 1 footwear and Tier 2 textile suppliers on traceability platform
• Pilot-traced 1,760 finished footwear purchase orders to yarn level for recycled polyester
• Achieved 13% material volume traceability to Tier 2 suppliers in 2024 toward 25% 2025 target

"Responsible Leadership is our approach to doing business, as we recognize our day-to-day decisions impact people and the planet," New Balance explains in its 2024 Sustainability Report. This philosophy drives the company's commitment to understanding and reshaping its impact "throughout our value chain and the ecosystems we rely on and live within."

However, achieving this visibility requires looking beyond direct suppliers. "A significant portion of supply chain impacts come from the activities of our suppliers' suppliers," New Balance acknowledges. "While we do not engage with them directly, they provide essential materials and services for New Balance products."

In 2024, the company worked with 151 Tier 1 suppliers across 27 countries and 133 strategic Tier 2 material suppliers spanning five priority materials: polyester, leather, cotton, sole foam, and rubber. To address this complexity, New Balance set a clear target: trace 25% of total material volume to the Tier 2 supplier level by 2025 and 50% by 2026.

The company decided to partner with TrusTrace to advance supply chain transparency. "We are implementing TrusTrace as a platform for mapping our supply chain more comprehensively beyond our Tier 1 suppliers, enhancing traceability and improving risk identification," states the report.

The implementation began with comprehensive supplier preparation. "All our Tier 1 footwear and Tier 2 textile suppliers have been trained to use the TrusTrace platform," New Balance confirms, establishing the foundation for scaled data collection across the supply chain.

The company launched a focused pilot program to validate the approach before broader rollout. "Our initial pilot focused on tracking recycled polyester," New Balance explains, selecting a material category with both sustainability significance and supply chain complexity.

The recycled polyester pilot demonstrated measurable success: "By the end of October, 1,760 New Balance finished footwear purchase orders were successfully traced to the yarn level of recycled polyester fabric," the company reports. In 2024, New Balance achieved 13% material volume traceability to Tier 2 suppliers toward its 25%  traceability target.  

The traceability data infrastructure now supports the company's broader due diligence strategy. "New Balance uses a risk-based approach to conducting due diligence at our Tier 2 suppliers," the company notes. "By leveraging data from supplier self-assessments and industry risk mapping tools, we are identifying the most significant risks within our supply chain."

In 2024, New Balance audited 108 Tier 1 suppliers (72% of total) and 46 subcontractors (48% of total), with 87% conducted by third parties. Around 70% of Tier 1 suppliers completed SLCP assessments and shared their data.

"We will continue to use risk data to inform targeted on-site assessments and provide suppliers with additional resources to ensure they continue to meet our social and environmental standards," the company confirms, translating its responsible leadership philosophy into actionable supply chain intelligence.