FibreTrace partners with Target and Cargill to trace cotton

FibreTrace, the real-time verification solution for fibre integrity and traceability solutions, is partnering with American retail group Target Corp. and Cargill, which supplies food, ingredients, and agricultural solutions to pave the way for real-time verification of US and Brazilian cotton.

In a statement, FibreTrace said the innovative partnership would include integrating luminescent pigments into the raw cotton at the initial stage of cotton processing, known as cotton ginning, to create a unique signature where the pigments are then tracked and identified across the global supply chain.

The move will allow Target Corp. to trace and verify the origin of fibre in real-time as it looks to promote accountability throughout the global textile supply chain.

The partnership will mark 50,000 metric tons of US and Brazilian raw cotton in the first year after first marking US cotton in November 2023.

Danielle Statham, founder and managing director of FibreTrace, said in a statement: “We hope that this partnership will inspire a ripple effect of change, demonstrating to other companies what is possible.

“We encourage the level of traceability this partnership provides to customers for other brands to follow our lead.”

Bill Foudy, senior vice president and president of Owned Brands at Target, added: “Achieving full visibility to where the cotton used to produce our products is grown is among the top priorities of our sustainability goals.

“Our partnership with FibreTrace and Cargill is an important step to improve traceability for the industry and will enable us to accelerate those efforts with our suppliers.”