Appliance of DNA science can shine a light on forced labour in the cotton fields

[Judi Lynn]

Appliance of DNA science can shine a light on forced labour in the cotton fields

A technique to trace fibres to the original plant could identify if a garment is made from cotton that has been grown and harvested by workers under duress

Karen McVeigh
Saturday 31 December 2016 04.00 EST Last modified on Saturday 31 December 2016 04.02 EST



How do you know if a T-shirt you are about to buy is free of the taint of forced labour? Scientists say they will soon have the answer, thanks to DNA technology aimed at tracing fibres from a shirt all the way back to the originnal plant.

DNA Applied Science, a New York-based company that uses DNA tagging to prevent counterfeiting and theft of products including cash, weapons and pharmaceuticals, began researching cotton after it emerged that many luxury brands, not least products labelled 100% Egyptian cotton, were fake.

James Hayward, the chief executive of DNA Applied Science, says: “We became interested in cotton about 10 years ago, when we heard that many of the high quality cotton sold for a premium was not what it claimed to be.”

His work, which enabled him to distinguish between different types of cotton fibres, led to a realisation that DNA technology could also be applied to the finished product, to determine where the cotton in a shirt comes from.

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/dec/31/appliance-dna-science-shine-light-forced-labour-cotton-fields

[LuvNewcastle]

1. A lot of people who pick cotton by hand are doing so under forced labor.

My grandparents were basically forced by their parents to pick it. Picking cotton is back-breaking work. It's one of the hardest jobs there is. People don't skip off to the cotton fields. I'm not trying to minimize slavery, but we consume fruits, vegetables, coffee, etc. that were picked by slave labor or nearly slave labor. We want 20 dollar shirts and jeans, so I have a feeling that that this story will be overlooked.