Vietnamese garment manufacturers using undeclared Chinese cotton inputs risk being caught by isotopic testing.
Isotopic testing on goods from Vietnam could link cotton to specific geographic areas such as Xinjiang by analysing the concentration of stable elements like carbon and hydrogen present in both the crop and the environment in which it has been grown.
In a recent study, researchers from isotope testing firm Stratum Reservoir and biotechnology company Applied DNA Sciences analysed garment samples, cotton swabs and shoes from big box retailers and ecommerce platforms, finding traces of banned Chinese cotton in 19% of a sample of merchandise selling at US and global retailers in the past year.
According to US Customs and Border Protection enforcement statistics, 2023 saw Vietnam export the greatest value of products that were denied entry to the US under the the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which was enforced in June 2023. Products are denied entry if the companies cannot prove they do not use upstream inputs produced with alleged Xinjiang forced labour.