Soorty’s recycled cotton backed by DNA markers
Swiss provider of DNA-based traceability solutions Haelixa has partnered vertically integrated Pakistani denim mill Soorty to facilitate the marking and tracing of the Karachi-based producer’s recycled cotton from fibre to finished garment.
Recycling forms a central pillar of Soorty’s current sustainability strategy, it said, with the scale of its efforts currently standing at roughly 23% (and expected to grow by an additional 10% annually, thanks to a new waste segregation system).
Haelixa has developed a custom DNA marker for identifying the mill’s recycled cotton. The marker is applied as a water-based solution to textile waste prior to its mechanical recycling at the spinning mill. Intermediate products are then subject to spot checks, with the final garment also being tested (using a method based on polymerase chain reaction [PCR] technology) to ensure the presence of recycled cotton in the blend.
As evidence of the partnership, the Swiss company will offer all Soorty clients the opportunity to use its “Marked & Traced by Haelixa” ingredient label. These labels can also come with a dedicated QR code which will link to a storytelling landing page, where brands will be able to provide supply chain or product verification data, for example.
Haelixa’s co-founder and chief executive, Michela Puddu, commented: “With recycling becoming a major trend, there is also an alarming number of unsubstantiated claims related to the use of recycled fibre in garments. To differentiate and rebuild consumer trust, more and more manufacturers and brands use markers to be able to authenticate recycled fibres in the final garment.”
Vice president of marketing, research and innovation at Soorty, Mansoor Bilal, added that Haelixa’s technology would help the mill to “attain the goal of traceability”. He said that he had little doubt that the partnership would prove a successful one.
