We get used to advanced technology in our 21st century lives, and so barely notice, sometimes, the amazing ways our science can combine with some of the most ancient crafts. So I thought as I read a piece today in a favorite advanced-tech web site AZ Nanotechnology. It had to do with wool. No, not a space-born NASA super-fabric. Wool.
.jpg)
For more than a thousand years, wool has been the lifeblood of the the Pennines hills in the north west of England. The gritty soil of the Pennines cannot grow crops and the grass that struggles to life is too sparse for cattle. But sheep have thrived, and the fine wool of the area spinners became the envy of the world.
Protecting a venerable product
.jpg)
In the 8th century, AD, the Emperor Charlemagne of France insisted that his cloaks be made of wool from the north of England, a hair-raising trip in those times.
By the 18th century, the new worsted cloths, with their long, fine fibers, were a critical British export, spun largely in the area around Yorkshire. Today, it’s no wonder that textile counterfeiters from around the world would love to fake that fine fabric.
Now Applied DNA Sciences is using an anti-counterfeiting technology backed by nine yards or so of patented research, to protect the venerable product with encrypted botanical DNA.
Protecting the Supply Chain
With a new lab and ongoing partnership at the Yorkshire-based Textile Centre of Excellence, Applied is full into its “DNA in Textiles” program to protect the provenance of the area’s wool and its supply chain.
Last July, Applied unveiled its first series of "DNA Suits" made in Yorkshire, UK. Each DNA suit was custom-made from the finest woolen yarn, then woven and finished into a pinstripe fabric, and assembled by a master tailor. You can wash the product as much as you like, but the DNA stays put for longer than the wearer probably wants to think about it, providing a definitive means to match the DNA mark to the bespoke suit. (Psst, counterfeiters…the DNA is in the pinstripe. Go for it.)
Wanted: an unbreakable anti-counterfeiting technology
It’s not that other technologies haven’t been tried. A formidable list of anti-counterfeiting measures have been applied in the textile industry: holograms and other famous hard-to-copy trademarks, heat transfer labels, invisible inks, unique thread and merchandise-tracking technology have all given it a go. What counterfeiter could beat this dream-team line-up? The answer: plenty of them. Some “fake-proof” labels have been duplicated in a matter of hours after they appear on the market. Others do not lend themselves to the regular audits that are needed for supply chain security.
Only SigNature DNA, the Applied product, cannot be broken. It is uncopyable.
Beyond that, real anti-counterfeiting measures demand a program, not just a wave of the scientific wand. It is that program which Applied and the Centre are now embarked.
Recently, the exclusive Leeds, UK, tailor, James Michelsberg , had a line of his bespoke suits treated with SigNature DNA. The fibers for the cloth used to make the suit were immersed in SigNature DNA as they were put on the loom, before the fabric was finished. His suits now boast a unique "fingerprint" to prove their authenticity.
Explain that to Charlemagne.
