Tax paying textiles

A textile marking system developed at

that encodes information invisible to the naked eye could save the

millions of dollars in revenue lost each year to counterfeiters and violators of trade laws.

While Mexican, Caribbean, African and Central American firms commonly use raw materials produced in the United States – and receive exemption from certain import tariffs – some manufacturers routinely falsify country-of-origin certification to avoid paying those taxes. The work of a team led by Glenn Allgood of the Department of Energy lab's Computational Sciences and Engineering Division could put an end to the deception.

"Our goal is to have a system using a fluorescent dye or other taggant that will cost just tenths of a cent per taggant, can survive the harsh manufacturing process and will not affect the quality of the garment," Allgood said. "We will also be able to encode specific process information such as the date and place of manufacture."