We are excited to excited to become the first producer in Asia to undertake an end-to-end cotton traceability pilot with Oritain, a New Zealand firm specializing in scientifically verifying origin.

Oritain, which has mapped over 90% of the world’s cotton to date, uses forensic science and statistics to detect naturally occurring elements in fibre.

As cotton grows, it absorbs a unique ratio of elements from its local environment. These are influenced by soil composition, weather, rainfall and other factors that result in cotton from one origin looking different to cotton from another. Oritain measures and analyses these differences to produce, what they call, an “Origin Fingerprint”.

Once an “Origin Fingerprint” has been generated, it cannot be tampered with, replicated or destroyed. Unlike other traceability systems, Oritain’s is a product test and will identify any tampering. Products can then be tested at any point in the supply chain to verify origin claims and mitigate against the chance of social and environmental risks.

After testing fabric samples provided by a major US-based retail partner of AGI Denim, Oritain 100% verified that the supplier used only traceable fibres from Pakistan, the US and Ivory Coast, consistent with the fabrics’ stated country-of-origin information.

The denim mill said that this made it the first in Asia and only the second in the world to successfully execute such a pilot alongside Oritain. It added that the trust inspired in partners and consumers by this guarantee of traceability would encourage a continued focus on manufacturing for a “planet-friendly” future, with transparency as a key cornerstone.

Executive Director at AGI Denim, Mr. Hasan Javed, commented: “Now more than ever before, the end consumer is interested in where cotton and [other] fibres were sourced from when they buy a pair of jeans. Oritain is the gold standard in transparency and traceability, and it has a very complex and robust system for tracing the origin of fibres. After several months of collaborating with them, we were able to get stellar results through our fully vertical set-up, where each sample was 100% consistent with the claimed origin. These sorts of partnerships will allow brands and retailers complete peace of mind when sourcing from suppliers.”

The Oritain certification will encourage AGI Denim to continue focusing on creating a planet-friendly future. Traceability has become the true cornerstone of sustainability in today’s world, allowing producers and consumers to enter partnerships with confidence and trust. AGI Denim is committed to a relationship of transparency not just with its stakeholders but with our planet too.