Applied DNA Sciences sees textile business growth

Applied DNA Sciences (APDN), a provider of DNA-based anti-counterfeiting and product authentication technology, has announced additional sales and continued growth in its global textile business. 

Expanding on its FiberTyping business, APDN is adding new customers and developing existing business, using its proprietary SigNature DNA technologies for marking and authenticating genuine textile and apparel.

Consumers rely on labels to reflect the true content and authenticity of the product. This is especially true considering the cost increase of cotton. Recently, a report from the National Inflation Association announced that the cost of cotton has increased by 54 percent. Having a metric that can verify cotton quality and label compliance is a key benefit of FiberTyping: it enables enforcement by FTC and US Customs, as well as retailers and brand owners, to ensure compliance with textile labeling laws.  

FiberTyping is a patent-pending genetic test that enables retailers, yarn manufacturers and even cotton growers to verify whether the original cotton fiber was used to manufacture the cotton product. From raw fiber to yarn to greige fabric and, ultimately, to finished fabrics, FiberTyping DNA testing can identify the exact cotton species (G.barbadense or G. hirsutum) in any cotton labeled product. FiberTyping requests continue to be fulfilled for yarn manufacturers from India, Pakistan, China and Supima, the promotional organization of the American Pima cotton growers. APDN is working within many textile sectors to add strong positioning in the overall supply chain. One large UK company, with over 700 retail outlets, has engaged APDN to test towels and bedding products to determine whether they contain 100 percent pima cotton, as labeled. This is one example of how customers are using FiberTyping to better control their supply chain to ensure 100 percent accountability.

To support continued business development efforts in the UK and Europe, APDN has opened its new DNA textile authentication laboratory and European office at the Textile Centre of Excellence (TCE) in Yorkshire, UK. APDN is partnering with the TCE in a joint effort to expand the DNA taggant marking and product authentication technology in the European market, with a reach to the Pacific Rim. Additional orders have been fulfilled and will continue to be developed with TCE and customers throughout Europe as a part of the ongoing partnership. 

Bill Macbeth, managing director of the Textile Centre of Excellence, said: ‘We have now perfected the process of protecting top quality textiles with the APDN botanical DNA. The Yorkshire “Signature” protection is now available as an affordable and foolproof way of guaranteeing that products produced in this region are authentic. The next stage will see leading brands using the technology to “audit” their distribution chains and identify where product substitution is taking place. There is massive worldwide market potential for this approach, with forensic testing now available at the new laboratory in Huddersfield.’   

Peter Ackroyd, consultant to the International Wool Textile Organization, said: ‘Several of the large wool and wool worsted merchants in the fabric market have seized the opportunity to adopt APDN’s botanical DNA protection to guarantee the provenance and intellectual integrity of their brands in key and emerging markets throughout the world. 

‘The APDN DNA taggants provide consumers with excellent proof of provenance and protection for premium priced goods and guarantee authenticity worldwide.’ 

The company says that another area of growth is the woven and printed label industry. Labels are used throughout the textile industry for product recognition and brand integrity. Adding SigNature DNA taggants to designer labels provides brand security and counterfeit protection. APDN has recently received a contract from a leading labeling company based in Milan, Italy, whose customer base is made up of leading Italian brands of apparel, hand bags, leather products and footwear.   

Recently, APDN began working with Prestigio en Moda of Mexico, a uniform manufacturer calling on government and federal agencies, including security groups and police departments. Prestigio was looking for a technology it could implement rapidly and cost-effectively to ensure the integrity of its products. ‘We immediately saw the potential of this high-end visionary technology as well as the possibilities it could bring to intelligently differentiate our products and to enter into new markets,’ said company owner and general director Moises Rodriquez.

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