The future of textile traceability: Building trust through science

Supply chain transparency has become a top priority for fashion brands and the textiles industry. What are the key factors driving this shift?

Lynch: Adoption is largely being driven by tightening global regulation, shifting trade dynamics, and increasing demand for evidence-backed origin claims from regulators, brands and consumers.

Oritain chief customer officer Gemma Lynch

Despite widespread investment in traceability, supply chain risk continues to persist, as our 2026 Supply Chain Intelligence Report found that 90 per cent of brands analysed in our 2025 Market Insights Programme had at least one result consistent with prohibited cotton, highlighting the limitations of documentation-based approaches and accelerating demand for independent verification.

The market is evolving towards continuous, programmatic verification models, where origin verification becomes embedded into ongoing supply chain and sourcing strategies rather than treated as a one-off compliance exercise.

What are the biggest challenges brands and textiles supply chains face today in proving the authenticity and origin of their raw materials?

Lynch: Regulatory scrutiny is heightening across multiple markets, from the US with the evolving tariff landscape, recent Section 301 investigations, and an uptick in enforcement due to the Executive Order “Strengthening Customs Enforcement,” to the EU Forced Labour Regulation and impending EU Deforestation Regulation. This environment highlights that documentation alone is no longer sufficient in complex, multi-tier supply chains, particularly where raw material origin is under regulatory scrutiny.

A verification-first approach enables companies to take a proactive approach, and identifying and addressing inconsistencies early, providing stronger, evidence-based support for compliance and reducing the risk of disruption.

More broadly, it reinforces the need for resilient supply chains built on independent verification of the physical product, ensuring companies can maintain market access and confidence in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.

Kyungbang has become the first spinning mill to join Oritain's membership programme. What motivated this decision, and how important is it to Kyungbang and the Vietnamese textiles industry?

Kyungbang chairman Joon Kim

Kim: Kyungbang believes that a trusted supply chain will be one of the most important competitive advantages for the textiles industry in the years ahead.

Joining Oritain's membership programme reflects our long-term commitment to transparency, traceability, and responsible sourcing.

As the first spinning mill to join the programme, our goal is not simply to meet customer expectations, but to help strengthen supply chain credibility and contribute to setting a higher standard for the industry.

Kyungbang's membership spans its operations in South Korea and two spinning mills in Vietnam. As a global yarn supplier operating at the earliest stage of the textiles supply chain, Kyungbang's commitment to ongoing, programmatic origin verification sets a new standard for the spinning sector, and gives its customers worldwide access to independently verified origin claims backed by forensic science.

Through Oritain's membership programme, Kyungbang will supply customers worldwide with products verified through independent forensic authentication. We expect this to receive strong support from market participants, and we are committed to ensuring we consistently deliver integrity and responsible trust to our customers

For Vietnam, as the country moves towards mandatory digital traceability for textiles products, Kyungbang's participation in Oritain's global membership programme positions its Vietnam operations at the forefront of the industry's transition from documentation-based traceability to independent, science-backed origin verification, helping strengthen trust, support compliance, and enhance the competitiveness of Vietnam's textiles sector in global markets.

We also hope this initiative will support the global competitiveness of Vietnam's textiles industry and further strengthen its reputation as a trusted sourcing destination.

How does joining Oritain's membership programme align with Kyungbang's long-term vision for sustainability, innovation, and customer trust?

Kim: At Kyungbang, sustainability extends beyond environmental responsibility to include supply chain transparency and customer trust.

Our partnership with Oritain provides a meaningful foundation for demonstrating these values through independent scientific verification.

We have continuously strengthened not only our product quality and manufacturing excellence, but also our commitment to traceability and responsible business practices.

Going forward, we will continue creating sustainable value by being a trusted partner for our customers and stakeholders.

What innovations is Oritain developing to make provenance testing even more scalable and accessible for the industry?

Lynch: Oritain verifies the product itself using forensic science, rather than relying on documents, certifications or digital systems that depend on supplier-reported data.

Our methodology analyses the intrinsic characteristics of a material to determine whether it is consistent with its claimed origin, providing a tamper-resistant and independent source of truth.

Oritain continues to invest heavily in scientific research and development, extending its forensic origin verification capabilities beyond cotton into additional materials including leather, another of the world’s most highly scrutinised materials due to deforestation concerns. This broadens access to provenance testing across more product categories and enables brands to apply the same rigorous verification standards throughout their supply chains.

Through our membership model, Oritain is creating a global network of origin-verified buyers and suppliers that share a common, science-based source of truth. This approach moves the industry from one-off testing towards programmatic verification at scale, helping suppliers demonstrate credibility to multiple buyers while giving brands greater visibility, confidence and transparency across their sourcing ecosystems. This innovation ensures greater accessibility to the most robust forensic verification programmes and ensures a continuously scalable model across global supply chains.

This delivers greater value by enabling brands to substantiate claims with evidence and giving consumers increased confidence that product origin aligns with what is being communicated.

What additional investments is Kyungbang making to strengthen responsible sourcing, sustainability, and supply chain resilience?

Kim: Kyungbang will continue investing in greater supply chain transparency, operational resilience, and sustainable manufacturing across our global operations.

Our priorities include expanding digital traceability systems, strengthening partnerships with suppliers, improving manufacturing efficiency, and investing in environmentally responsible production technologies.

We will also continue enhancing our responsible sourcing practices in line with internationally recognised sustainability standards to meet the evolving expectations of global customers.

Vietnam is a key manufacturing base for Kyungbang. We will continue investing in technology, people, and production capabilities to support sustainable growth and strengthen our global competitiveness.