New traceability technology marks Israeli cotton at seed level
Australian product authentication and track and trace solutions provider Security Matters has collaborated with the Israel Cotton Board (ICB) and the country’s organic cotton growers to mark cotton plants at the seed stage using Security Matters’ technology.
An offshoot project of a wider cotton verification partnership between the company and ICB, the cotton seeds in question have reportedly now grown into healthy, flowering plants.
Security Matters has been working with the Israeli body for some time to ensure that all cotton sourced from Israel meets minimum standards of quality, sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements, local media said.
Speaking to Australian financial news outlet Stockhead, ICB chief executive, Yizhar Landau, commented: “Traceability and transparency of the organic cotton and conventional cotton supply chains is critical to the ICB. Security Matters provided our cotton growers with an efficient drop-in solution that will enable them to provide accurate proof of origin of their organic cotton, beyond the paper certification to our buyers.
“We believe that Security Matters’ technology could be the most effective and efficient solution for traceability, authentication, verification and certification of origin, not just for ICB’s organic and conventional cotton growers, but also for the entire global organic cotton industry and community.”
Mr Landau added that the technology’s markers are sensitive to any dilution or substitution of the cotton, effectively enhancing the protection of the fibre’s integrity and authenticity and therefore providing buyers with an extra layer of assurance.
Chief executive of Security Matters, Haggai Alon, said that the company currently offers the “only” technology that can track raw materials throughout the textile and apparel supply chain, while also monitoring the exact composition of the final garment through to recycling and reuse.
“We have a ready, easy to implement, scalable solution that can easily detect the origination and traceability data embedded in the cotton via our proprietary reader within seconds - without having to undergo extensive lab tests,” Mr Alon told reporters.
Image credit: Trisha Downing via Unsplash.
