Cone Denim reaffirms its commitment to responsible cotton sourcing

US-based, Cone Denim, is reinforcing its commitment to responsible sourcing by extending its relationship with supply chain traceability specialist Oritain across its global platform to further support customers in the light of the recently enacted Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

With the expansion of its cooperation with Oritain, Cone Denim reaffirms its commitment to responsible production and ethical sourcing throughout its worldwide supply chain.

Last year, Cone became the first denim mill to use Oritain’s technology, which it claims gives the highest level of end-to-end supply chain transparency by employing forensic science to authenticate cotton provenance. The partnership also ensures that no cotton fibers used in Cone Denim fabrics are sourced from regions with the risk of forced labor.

Steve Maggard, president of Cone Denim, said that over the last year, Cone Denim has worked hard to maximize its access to Oritain technology and promote transparency with its customers regarding the provenance of cotton used in their products. Traceability and transparency aren’t just industry buzzwords; they’re deeply held values that are quickly becoming the gold standard. They can provide scientific verification of cotton origin as well as periodic audit findings that confirm their statements are truthful and admissible in a court of law thanks to their partnership with Oritain.

Maggard added that accountability is essential to Cone’s commitment to human rights. Prior to the passage of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, they took the appropriate precautions, and they will continue to lead the industry in these critical initiatives.

The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which prohibits the importation of resources or items mined, produced, or manufactured in the People’s Republic of China’s Xinjiang area, was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden last month.

Customers can be assured with scientific confidence that Cone Denim products do not contain any cotton from prohibited regions, notwithstanding the passage of this crucial bill. With Oritain technology, the brand is happy to have completed more than a year’s worth of extensive and conclusive audits.

Cone claims to have undertaken multiple audits as a result of its cooperation with Oritain, demonstrating that all samples evaluated throughout Cone sites in China and Mexico were compliant. Zero samples were recognized as originating from a high-risk location, and they were chosen at random by a third-party collection agency.

Oritain’s method combines forensic science and statistics to detect naturally present components in cotton, obviating the requirement for extra exogenous tracers like spray or particles. Cotton has an inherent fingerprint that is unique to each site due to soil composition and other environmental conditions. Unlike other traceability systems, these ‘Origin Fingerprints’ cannot be tampered with, copied, or destroyed once created. To validate origin claims, products can be tested at any step in the supply chain. To date, the United Kingdom has mapped almost 90% of the world’s cotton.