HGI: Fashion Has a Proof Problem. Why Evidence Ecosystems Matter in Risk Mitigation

Companies must answer, with credible, verifiable evidence, the question regulators, customs officials and consumers will ask: ‘How do you know your claim is true?’  

By Lauren Parker

As tariffs shift supply chains around the globe, forced labor enforcement tightens and regulators demand deeper transparency, apparel brands are under increasing pressure to prove where their materials actually come from. Origin and content documentation alone isn’t enough anymore.

MeiLin Wan, founder and CEO of GenuTrace, has spent 20 years dedicated to traceability and security, including her role at Applied DNA Sciences, where she helped pioneer DNA tagging on cotton. Wan launched GenuTrace last year to bring scientific testing and digital traceability to the challenge of helping companies verify the content and provenance of their goods. 

“My contribution and my legacy in this space is really about making traceability more accessible, and you can’t make it more accessible unless you understand all the different technology systems that have evolved over the last 20 years,” she said.

Here, Wan shares the role traceability plays in verifying Customs documentation, proving sustainability compliance and substantiating marketing claims.