Security Matters (ASX:SMX)’s innovative chemical marker and  blockchain authentication platform has a new possible use case: tracing the origin and authenticating organic and conventional cotton products.

The brand protection company announced this morning that its Fashion Sustainable Competence Centre is working closely with the Israeli Cotton Board (ICB), the farmer-owned producer cooperative that represents all cotton farmers in the country, on the innovative idea with global implications.

SMX and ICB have signed a joint collaboration agreement for a first project, which consists of “marking” the conventional and organic cotton at the farm and field level; authenticating its origination; and providing full transparency in the value chain and lifecycle of the cotton, so it can be identified and sorted for recycle or reuse at the end of its life.

Successful completion of the project would lay the foundation for SMX’s technology to be adopted by all cotton growers in Israel – and possibly, around the world.

The project also fits in nicely with the other work of the Fashion Sustainability Centre, which initially focused on authenticating T-shirts, sports shoes and sunglasses.

With organic cotton added to the mix, the centre could even become a “one-stop shop” for brands during the transition from the linear to the circular economy.

All of Israel’s cotton is certified by the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), a governance group that promotes sustainable cotton practices in 21 countries around the globe.

“For cotton growers in Israel, sustainability is not a fad but a way of life,” says Yizhar Landau, chief executive of the Israeli Cotton Board.

“Our cotton growers use recycled water, drip irrigation and integrated pest management in the field.

“We believe in harnessing advanced technologies like SMX to protect and benefit our growers and enable our customers to obtain digital blockchain certification and be able to tangibly verify that the cotton purchased from ICB is 100 per cent BCI certified, and the conventional and organic cotton grown in Israeli is genuine.

“SMX’s collaborative project for conventional and organic cotton with ICB demonstrates our commitment to enable all value chain players, from the conventional and organic cotton growers to manufacturers and brands, to meet the sustainability and ESG expectations of its consumers and stakeholders, whilst meeting the demands of the market and their financial goals,” says Security Matters CEO Haggai Alon.

A platform with many applications

Don’t be fooled — the SMX blockchain platform has a host of applications beyond fashion and farming. The technology could be used for everything from safeguarding the coronavirus vaccine rollout to letting computer giant Intel know whether its motherboards have been tampered with to marking flame retardant chemicals used across a range of manufactured products worldwide.

Its blockchain 3.0 project will be a key enabler for the new equilibrium circular economy, SMX says.

This article was developed in collaboration with Security Matters, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

 

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