Australia’s Security Matters (SMX), a platform for authenticating chemical markers and blockchain, recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Israeli Cotton Board (ICB) to certify and trace organic and conventional cotton, which represents all cotton farmers in the country, from seed to product. The first project will label conventional and organic cotton at the field level.
The process will ensure identification of cotton products at the end of life and sorted for recycling or reuse. Successful completion of the project would lay the foundation for SMX technology to be adopted by all cotton farmers in Israel.
The project also fits well with the other work done by SMX’s Fashion Sustainability Center, which initially focused on authenticating t-shirts, athletic shoes and sunglasses, according to a report.
All Israeli cotton is certified by the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI).“For cotton farmers in Israel, sustainability is not a fad, but a way of life,” says Yizhar Landau, Managing Director of the Israeli Cotton Board. “Our cotton farmers use recycled water, drip irrigation and integrated pest management on site.”