HGI: Beyond the Certificate: Rethinking Cotton Traceability Through Supply Chain Partnership
Certifications have served our industry well. But if we are serious about traceability, genuinely serious, they are the beginning of the conversation, not the end of it.
By MeiLin Wan, May 18, 2026
Key Insights
How regulations like UFLPA and EUDR have changed the demand for traceability beyond what certifications and digital product passports alone can provide
How cotton blending, recycled material processing and fragmented supply chains create “holes in the boat” that weaken trust and verification
Why brands, mills and suppliers must combine physical verification, scientific testing and shared accountability to build defensible proof across the supply chain
What brand leaders and traceability service providers have to say about what it will take to bridge the trust gap
Think of a global supply chain as a boat. Every partner, from the cotton grower to the ginner, spinner, mill, distributor to the retailer, is on that boat journey together, whether they see it that way or not. When everyone rows in the same direction, with shared accountability and open communication, the boat moves forward. But when assumptions go unexamined and claims are made without the evidence to back them up, those are holes in the boat. And holes let water in. Enough water, and the boat eventually sinks.
Trust is the foundation of every supply chain relationship. We trust that the cotton was grown where the certificate says it was. We trust that the recycled content made it through the process intact. We trust that what is written on the label reflects what is actually in the garment. For most of the industry’s history, that trust was built on documentation, certifications, and long-standing supplier relationships, and for a long time, that was the norm, it was “good enough”.
But the world has changed. Regulations like the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act (UFLPA) and EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) are no longer asking for documentation. They are asking for proof. And when you start asking that question seriously, not “what does the certificate say?” but “what can you actually prove?”, you begin to see the holes in the boat.
“Certifications tell you about a system, not about a product. What brands need is a supply chain where every partner understands their role and is accountable.”
—Ayfer Yarcich, former VP of Sourcing and Compliance at Boll & Branch and Director at Vera Bradley
That is the question that led me to start GenuTrace. Not to cast doubt on the industry’s intentions, but to build the tools and frameworks that allow trust to be earned rather than assumed. Because when trust is only assumed, it becomes a risk. And in today’s regulatory and consumer environment, unverified trust is one of the biggest risks a brand can carry.
What follows is an examination of three widely accepted norms, understood not as failures, but as places where the industry has an opportunity to go further and be stronger for it. Together.
