The importance of fiber tracing and verification, and the use of recycled materials in the textile-apparel supply chain are growing swiftly.
In times of ambitious climate goals, carbon offset and scarce resources, the digital material verification is now a chief concern. Many raw material companies have developed or are creating programs and technologies to meet these needs, and a new deal between two European firms tackles these challenges.
Eurofins Textile Testing Spain, a major player in analytical testing worldwide, and Tailorlux, a Germany-based full-service provider for product authenticity, have signed an agreement to explore business synergies in the textile and apparel market.
Tailorlux has developed a system that can automatically verify the recycled content of a textile and will ramp up a system to automatically verify the recycled content in a spinning mill. This online verification and the machine-to-machine elements pave the way for innovative solutions like distributed ledgers (also known as blockchain) or green key performance indicators, or KPIs. Recycled content can be verified and quantified online and during production to create tokens for digital transactions of yarn.
Eurofins said it is the first to explore this new way of textile transparency with complementary lab services and audits of spinning mills that participate in this program. Tailorlux customers will benefit from the global footprint of Eurofins by being able to send samples to Eurofins laboratories and check for the Tailorlux tracer.
Other methods are in play in the industry. Supima has partnered with Oritain on a traceability program that uses a “unique origin fingerprint.” Supima cotton and samples can be taken from the supply chain and verified against the fingerprint. This allows blended or substituted cotton from a different origin to be identified.
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Unifi Inc., makers of Repreve recycled polyester fiber, has developed a process called U Trust Verification that is a comprehensive certification program that helps Repreve customers authenticate their product usage. It leverages proprietary FingerPrint technology that helps customers avoid false environmental claims and analyzes the fabric content and composition to support third-party certifications.
“Consumers increasingly insist that they want to ensure the traceability of where their products are coming from,” Renee Henze, director of global marketing and commercial development at Dupont Sorona, said. “That is increasingly flowing back through our different supply chains.”
Dupont Sorona has created the Common Thread fabric certification program, which conducts certification on performance standards that shift based on the end product. Common Thread also makes sure there is a percentage content of Sorona in those applications.