Yagi & Co Launches Cotton iD For Enhanced Organic Cotton Traceability

Yagi & Co has introduced its proprietary system, Cotton iD, to enhance the traceability of organic cotton. This innovative system offers a robust traceability management solution for organic cotton, spanning from the cotton fields to yarn production. Notably, India, the world’s largest organic cotton producer, is a focal point for this initiative.

The organic cotton industry faced challenges due to the existence of two separate certifications, one for processes before ginning and another for the ginning process that separates seeds and cotton from harvested cotton balls. This division created difficulties in ensuring consistent traceability management, and instances of large-scale fraud related to organic cotton in India have occurred in the past.

Yagi & Co’s Cotton iD system establishes transparent traceability management for 85% or more of the organic cotton in their supply chain, from the initial cotton field stages to the final yarn production. The company, a member of the Global Organic Textile Standard since 2006 and a prominent handler of internationally certified organic cotton in Japan, offers products under their brand, Unito Organic, including yarn, textiles and garments. Customers purchasing relevant organic cotton from the company can obtain certifications of the management system.

Yagi & Co operates a group company, Tsubame Towel, known for producing the largest volume of organic cotton towels in Japan, and Yamaya Orimono Co., Ltd., a specialist in yarn processing with GOTS certification. They actively engage in activities to support the transition to organic farming for cotton farmers in India and provide school support for the children of these farmers as part of their sustainability framework for organic cotton.