Security Matters (ASX:SMX)’s innovative chemical marker and blockchain authentication platform has a new possible use case: tracing the origin and authenticating organic and conventional cotton products.
The brand protection company announced this morning that its Fashion Sustainable Competence Centre is working closely with the Israeli Cotton Board (ICB), the farmer-owned producer cooperative that represents all cotton farmers in the country, on the innovative idea with global implications.
SMX and ICB have signed a joint collaboration agreement for a first project, which consists of “marking” the conventional and organic cotton at the farm and field level; authenticating its origination; and providing full transparency in the value chain and lifecycle of the cotton, so it can be identified and sorted for recycle or reuse at the end of its life.
Successful completion of the project would lay the foundation for SMX’s technology to be adopted by all cotton growers in Israel – and possibly, around the world.
The project also fits in nicely with the other work of the Fashion Sustainability Centre, which initially focused on authenticating T-shirts, sports shoes and sunglasses.
With organic cotton added to the mix, the centre could even become a “one-stop shop” for brands during the transition from the linear to the circular economy.
All of Israel’s cotton is certified by the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), a governance group that promotes sustainable cotton practices in 21 countries around the globe.
“For cotton growers in Israel, sustainability is not a fad but a way of life,” says Yizhar Landau, chief executive of the Israeli Cotton Board.
Read the article on Stockhead.