American Denimatrix, the textile and apparel division of Lubbock-based Plains Cotton Cooperative Association (PCCA), has been named a 2013 Top Innovator for its traceability program by Apparel Magazine in its May issue.

American Denimatrix is among 40 top apparel companies recognized for “demonstrating exceptionality through an information technology-related implementation, product launch, or other outstanding business strategy.”

The cooperativeΆs traceability program allows consumers to trace their denim jeans back to the farms that produced the cotton used to make the fabric.

A hangtag containing a quick response (QR) code on the jeans can be scanned with a smart phone which takes the consumer to a web site that features profiles of some of the farms and farm families. The profiles can contain general location, photographs, history, and environmental stewardship information about the farming operations. A major retail chain in 2012 used the traceability feature with one of its proprietary line of jeans manufactured by American Denimatrix.

“Our traceability is unique in the global apparel industry because we can maintain the identity of the cotton and its origin in our denim fabric and jeans throughout the manufacturing process,” said PCCA President and CEO Wally Darneille. “We are deeply honored to receive this recognition from Apparel Magazine.”

Founded in 1953, PCCA is a farmer-owned cotton marketing, warehousing and textile and apparel manufacturer with the only fully vertically integrated supply chain for denim apparel in the Western Hemisphere. The cooperativeΆs textile and apparel division consists of its denim mill at Littlefield, Texas, and its garment facility in Guatemala City, Guatemala.