Applied DNA Sciences Inc., a specialist in DNA manufacturing for product authenticity and traceability solutions, has struck a sales and marketing partnership with material manufacturer Navarpluma that extends its textile business into the global down and feather supply chain.
Using its SigNature DNA system, Applied DNA, a provider of molecular technologies that enable supply chain security, anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft technology and product genotyping, can now trace materials in the down and feather industry. Navarpluma, a global supplier of down and feathers to the textile industry, will be the first to offer this new system to its customer base that counts many top brands as clients.
“Use of Applied DNA’s SigNature DNA system gives Navarpluma the ability to validate the provenance of raw materials used,” Benjamin Dix, export manager at Navarpluma, said. “This ability conveys a significant competitive advantage to our products in the marketplace and to those products manufactured from our raw materials. We are very pleased to pioneer Applied DNA’s SigNature DNA system in our industry to establish a new gold standard for traceability that can be relied on by our clients and their customers.”
Tony Benson, Applied DNA’s managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), said traceability has been a key goal for Navarpluma over the past several years.
“With their use of the SigNature DNA forensic molecular tag, together with the hand-portable SigNify in-field testing equipment aggregated under the CertainT brand, enables the first full traceability of down and feathers,” Benson said.
After establishing its textile testing and tagging with cotton, synthetics and leather, this is Applied DNA’s first foray into the growing down feather market, which the company said was valued at $5.9 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach $10.25 billion by the end of 2025.
Working with French company Ets Abel Crabos and with new state-of-the-art facilities and advanced technology for down and feather production, Navarpluma has a capacity to market around 5,000 tons of high quality feather and down material annually to clients around the world.