Sean Cormier, assistant chair, Textile Development and Marketing, published a paper in the September/October 2018 issue of AATCC Review (Vol. 18, No.4) titled “DNA in Your Jeans? Effect of Abrasion and Bleaching on DNA Tagged Denim.” The paper details his experiments to develop a definitive method of identifying fibers throughout the supply chain, adding a level of transparency to the industry. For example, an American manufacturer of denim that is tagged would be able to prove that the final jeans made from their denim were made of American cotton.
For this experiment, Cormier teamed up with Applied DNA Sciences on Long Island and they made a specific DNA formula unique to FIT. He applied the material to denim and then washed it like a manufacturer would, with stones and chlorine bleach. After the wash, they were still able to identify the DNA signal.
For more information, contact Cormier, (212) 217-5237.