"The Welspun controversy has thrown up questions on whether there is any foolproof technique to differentiate fake and original cotton fabric? There are various methods of finding out. With the news of US-based client, Target Corporation, terminating business contract with textile major Welspun India, on the grounds of using a different variety of cotton instead of Egyptian cotton in the production of sheets, it has become a reason for debate for many in the industry."

The Welspun controversy has thrown up questions on whether there is any foolproof technique to differentiate fake and original cotton fabric? There are various methods of finding out. With the news of US-based client, Target Corporation, terminating business contract with textile major Welspun India, on the grounds of using a different variety of cotton instead of Egyptian cotton in the production of sheets, it has become a reason for debate for many in the industry. For starters, Target sells luxury bath and bedding products under the Fieldcrest brand in the US.

Just as the news broke, Welspun’s shares took a beating on the and market capitalisation declined by more than Rs 5,000 crores that particular week. As a result, share trading was suspended for two consecutive sessions and Welspun arranged an urgent conference call with investors and analysts to put across its version of the news.

“In the manufacturing process, we source a lot of raw materials, such as cotton, cotton yarn or greige fabric, from various vendors. We, thus, want to revalidate all our supply processes and systems,” Rajesh Mandawewala, Group Managing Director, Welspun, said. To solicit its claim, the company has taken Ernst & Young on-board to audit its supply systems & processes. This entire incident has acted as warning for other global partners such as Walmart and Bed Bath & Beyond, to be extremely cautious while sourcing products from India.

Lacking tech arm

Earlier in March, the Cotton Egypt Association, the world’s only trademark and licensing authority for the commodity, had tested home textile products labeled as Egyptian cotton and found that around 90 per cent of the products did not contain the premium cotton variety at all. Welspun was licensed to use the Egyptian cotton logo too and the Association has now launched an investigation following the Target case. Is this the case of counterfeiting & mislabeling? Ask trade pundits.

Lack of tools & technologies to verify the authenticity of Egyptian cotton can be the probable reason towards increasing cases of counterfeiting in the industry. Cotton Incorporated, a US-based industry-funded body, highlights there is no physical test to determine the authenticity of cotton products once the fibre is converted into yarn. But agencies like the Cotton Egypt Association have turned to DNA testing of cotton products.

Years of research has led Mohamed AM Negm of the Interregional Cooperative Research Network on Cotton for the Mediterranean & Middle East Regions & Suzan H Sanad of the Cotton Research Institute, Egypt, to develop the CTAB (cetyl trimethylammonium bromide) method to extract DNA from Egyptian cotton fibres throughout the supply chain, from farming till the finished product. The isolated DNA is then used to identify varieties of cotton, thereby establishing authenticity of the product.

For India to make its mark globally, counterfeiting has to end. With increased pressure to produce at the lowest cost, much of the ELS cotton manufacturing and final assembly has migrated to other countries, mainly China, India, Portugal, and Pakistan. The incentive to substitute lesser quality Upland cotton in place of the premium ELS cotton is high and opens the door for mislabeling, feel experts.

Some even think that the reducing supply of Egyptian cotton and its higher price are giving rise to clones. Stats show in 1980s, Egypt grew cotton on as much as 500,000 hectares of land per year but the area under cotton fell to 223,000 hectares by 2000-01, says US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Drop in production of Egyptian cotton is mainly due to changes in consumer preferences and new technologies. Over time, consumer preference has shifted to garments, which require short- or medium-staple cotton such as denim and T-shirts. This shift in demand has overtaken the demand for clothing and bedsheets made of extra-long and long-staple cotton varieties.

The slump in Egyptian cotton production has also occurred in other countries, including India, China, Pakistan, and Brazil. Global production has decreased by 18 per cent to 21.3 million tonnes in 2015-16, according to Negm.