GeoTyping™ and SigNature® T DNA Tagging will
Trace Global Cotton Substitution to Country-of-Origin
STONY BROOK, N.Y. -- (Business Wire)
Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:APDN; “Applied DNA”, “the Company”),
today announced it will introduce a GeoTyping™ Beta Program, for the
month of February, to brands and retailers interested in identifying
country-of-origin in cases of cotton fiber substitution. Applied DNA is
asking those interested to provide cotton samples suspected to contain
cotton from Uzbekistan (“Uzbek cotton”).
The “GeoTyping™ Beta Program uses a known library of biomarkers that
designate the DNA fingerprint of the cotton cultivar, including genus,
species and one of 70 different geographic-cultivar-dependent genotypes.
In 2017, Applied DNA identified two biomarkers for Uzbekistan cotton,
and has continued to advance its DNA assays and broaden the validation
of the GeoTyping program.
It is an expansion of Applied DNA’s end-to-end SigNature® T
cotton traceability system, enabling the identification of the country
of origin for cottons that may be substituted for the cotton specified
on labels. For example, “Grown in America” cotton might be substituted
by an inferior quality of cotton sourced off-shore. This technology
ensures the country-of-origin is properly identified on labels, and can
help to prevent the entry of cotton cultivated by human rights abusers.
“Our SigNature T cotton traceability system provides substantial
advantages over current supply chain management authentication, such as
RFID, data dots or ‘certificates of authenticity’,” said Dr. James A
Hayward, president and CEO of Applied DNA. “Today, uncertainty of cotton
supply chains remains if there is no way to physically trace the fibers
to their source, and verify through DNA testing at yarn, fabric and
finished goods. You cannot put an RFID on every single fiber and expect
it to remain on the finished good. SigNature T combined with the
GeoTyping Beta Program, provides full traceability that is seamless,
economical and exact.”
“Our high-resolution cotton GeoTyping assays can provide proof of the
sourcing crimes and human rights abuses in the CASH Investigation
expose.” Hayward continued. “GeoTyping complements SigNature T tagging.
Should non-compliance be suspected in a SigNature T-participating
textile, GeoTyping serves as the means to identify the source of cotton
fiber substitution.”
Recent reports have scrutinized hidden human rights abuses in global
cotton supply chains. On November 28, 2017, on prime time French
television, the CASH
Investigative Team reported Uzbek cotton was handpicked by forced
labor organized on a large scale (approximately 1 million people) by the
Uzbek government. A significant amount of this cotton was shipped (some
with missing or misleading statements of origin), to Bangladesh
manufacturers that supply products to many U.S., U.K. and E.U. brands.
The report also showed that suppliers who manufacture in South Korea,
China and Europe also received Uzbek cotton.
Posing as a European importer, the CASH team also captured a
conversation on hidden camera in which an Uzbek cotton product
manufacturer offered to designate the country of origin (as opposed to
Uzbekistan) that the buyer would prefer be stated on the origination
documents. The Uzbek exporter stated this was a very common measure
undertaken for companies purchasing Uzbek cotton products, and that the
risk of being caught falsely stating that the product was manufactured
in Bulgaria, for example, was almost non-existent.
Many of the potentially affected brands had publicly pledged to boycott
Uzbek cotton in compliance with government laws, or were participating
in global cotton initiatives that promulgate sustainability credits and
ethical purchasing standards. Nonetheless, these brands were wittingly
or unwittingly using manufacturers in their supply chain who were buying
Uzbek cotton, providing the opportunity for cotton obtained via human
rights abuse to enter their supply chains.
GeoTyping is meant to complement, not replace, SigNature T tagging. The
cost of this assay is comparatively higher due to the equipment,
reagents, and maintenance associated with maintaining the extensive and
annually-changing library of genomes against which single samples must
be compared. SigNature T tagging provides a method to trace any fiber
tested in a dedicated supply chain back to the intended original source;
it can also be assigned meaning such as year, gin, or other attribute
not possible from cotton’s inherent DNA. Should non-compliance be
suspected in SigNature T-participating textiles, GeoTyping can serve as
the means to identify the source of cotton fiber substitution.
Applied DNA in concert with The Himatsingka Group utilizes an integrated
cotton DNA authentication platform that incorporates a physical
molecular tracer combined with genotyping. Together these technologies
serve to preserve the integrity and purity of the cotton fiber at its
precise point of origin – the date, time, place and the social and
environmental practices used to produce the cotton. The collaboration
with The Himatsingka Group provides for tagging at source, testing
compliance at every step in the supply chain, and tracing of fabric and
finished goods to the original source. This SigNature® T
platform includes an IT tracking framework that is blockchain-ready, and
permits the brand-owner, retailer or consumer to confirm the content and
origin of the cotton fibers contained within their home textiles and
garments. Nine cotton gins participate in the US.
“The Himatsingka Group is pleased with the commencement of the
‘GeoTyping’ project which will ensure global cotton mapping capabilities
and further enhance transparency across the cotton value chain, thus
bringing greater value to the consumer,” stated Shrikant Himatsingka,
Managing Director & Group CEO, Himatsingka Group.
For further information on the GeoTyping Beta Program, contact textilesales@adnas.com.
Disclaimer: Applied DNA has no affiliation with CASH
Investigative team. The Company did not travel with the CASH
Investigative team. However, our staff have been direct witness to the
abundant presence of Uzbek cotton at firms manufacturing well-respected
global textile brands.
About The Himatsingka Group
The Himatsingka Group is a vertically integrated Textile major with a
global footprint. The Group focuses on the manufacturing, retailing and
distribution of Home Textile products. On the manufacturing front, the
Group operates amongst the largest capacities in the world for producing
Bedding Products, Bath Products, ultrafine count Cotton Yarn and
Decorative Fabrics. Spread across Asia, Europe and North America, its
retail and wholesale distribution divisions carry some of the most
prestigious brands in the home textile space and cater to private label
programs of major retailers across these geographies. With a team of
over 6000 people, the Group continues to expand reach and build
capacities in the textile space.
About Applied DNA Sciences
Applied DNA is a provider of molecular technologies that enable supply
chain security, anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft technology, product
genotyping and DNA mass production for diagnostics and therapeutics.
We make life real and safe by providing innovative, molecular-based
technology solutions and services that can help protect products,
brands, entire supply chains, and intellectual property of companies,
governments and consumers from theft, counterfeiting, fraud and
diversion. The proprietary DNA-based “CertainT®” platform can
be used to identify, tag, test, and track products, to help assure
authenticity, origin, traceability, sustainability and quality of
products.
SigNature® DNA describes the core technology ingredient that
is at the heart of a family of uncopiable, security and authentication
solutions such as SigNature® T and fiberTyping®,
targeted toward textiles and apparel, BackTrac™ and DNAnet®,
for anti-theft and loss prevention, and digitalDNA®,
providing powerful track-and-trace. All provide a forensic chain of
evidence, and can be used to prosecute perpetrators. Applied DNA
Sciences is also engaged in the large-scale production of specific DNA
sequences using the polymerase chain reaction.
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The Company’s common stock is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol APDN,
and its warrants are listed under the symbol APDNW.
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28, 2017, which is available at www.sec.gov.
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any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or
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Source: Applied DNA Sciences, Inc.
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