North Carolina denim maker Cone Denim is extending its partnership with traceability and product-testing company Oritain. After four years of working with the New Zealand–based forensic- and data-science firm, Cone will continue to apply Oritain’s science to its fabrics.

As the umbrella of sustainability continues to widen to include additional concerns, companies must remain transparent and willing to relay sourcing information to their industry partners, customers and, ultimately, consumers. Under the broader topic of sustainability, ethical sourcing has become a concern of brands, designers and shoppers who worry about how fabrics are made and the origin of the materials that are sourced to make denim. For Cone, this means revealing details regarding its cotton sourcing to its industry partners and remaining committed to combating fraud.

“We’ve always operated on trust,” said Steve Maggard, president of Cone Denim. “We value providing our customers with traceability and documented transparency throughout the supply chain. Extending our partnership with Oritain allows us to continue our ongoing efforts to combine sustainable innovation with documentable, industry-leading traceability for cotton origin.”

The Oritain method of fabric-sourcing verification relies on the detection of naturally occurring elements and isotopes within cotton. Environmental factors such as soil composition provide unique identifiers of the cotton, thereby generating an Oritain Origin Fingerprint, which can be used to identify the source of cotton that is used by Cone to make its denim. These characteristics of intrinsic properties of the textiles cannot be altered or destroyed, allowing the materials to be traced to their sources. Cone denim can be tested at all stages, whether on the farm or the shop floor, to ensure items aren’t tampered with during their supply-chain journeys to ensure the authenticity of the products.

“Continued industry pressures have caused companies to make a commitment to more-sustainable practices and provide full transparency of their supply chains,” explained Grant Cochrane, CEO of Oritain. “Cone Denim’s commitment to the Oritain program is leading the way in the denim industry and further demonstrates the world-leading mindset that Oritain endeavors to collaborate with.”