Zurich, Switzerland-headquartered Haelixa and Soorty, one of Pakistan’s largest vertically integrated denim manufacturers, are collaborating on a traceability project using DNA markers.

Haelixa’s technology will help Soorty to support claims related to the use of recycled cotton in denim products, opening the door to significant,new business opportunities for both companies.

Haelixa has developed a unique DNA marker to be able to identify Soorty’s recycled cotton. It is solved in liquid and then applied to textile waste before mechanical recycling takes place in the spinning mill in Pakistan. Spot checks are done with the intermediate products as well as tests with the final garment to prove that the product contains the recycled cotton. The test is based on highly scalable PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technology that is 100% reliable and has forensic validity.

Being able to prove its claims is crucial for Soorty which currently has recycling percentage of around 23% of fibres in its products. The new waste segregation system is expected to further improve the recycling proportion by another 10% annually.

With recycling becoming a major trend, there are an alarming number of unsubstantiated claims related to the use of recycled fibre in garments

Haelixa will also offer Soorty’s clients the use of its Marked & Traced by Haelixa label for garments, enabling customers to inform the end consumer of supply chain transparency efforts. The label can be complemented with a QR code linking to a dedicated landing page, where brands can bring their product stories to life and enable customers to access supply chain and product verification data.

“With the emerging concerns for environment, Soorty has pledged to make its manufacturing process more sustainable, transparent and traceable,” said Mansoor Bilal, VP of marketing research and innovation at Soorty. “After taking variables and standards into consideration, we are pleased to announce that we have collaborated with Haelixa, the pioneer of sustainability solution. Haelixa will help us attain the goal of traceability via DNA marker, which is a novel technology for tracing the roots of finished goods.”

“With recycling becoming a major trend, there are an alarming number of unsubstantiated claims related to the use of recycled fibre in garments,” added Michela Puddu, co-founder and CEO of Haelixa “To differentiate and re-build consumer trust more and more manufacturers and brands use markers to be able to authenticate recycled fibres in the final garment.”

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