Beyond Declarations: 5 Takeaways from the Oritain Evening in Paris

On July 2, Oritain brought together more than 60 leaders and experts from retail, fashion, and luxury in Paris to mark the opening of its Paris office and the integration of AIA, Oritain’s French laboratory, into Oritain’s global laboratory network.

Hosted at the New Zealand Embassy, the evening tackled a question that has become central for brands: how do you move from declared traceability to independent verification of raw material origin?

Between the findings of the 2026 Oritain Supply Chain Intelligence Report, conversations with industry players, and a panel featuring Louis Vuitton and Lacoste, five key messages emerged.

1. Oritain strengthens its presence at the heart of luxury and fashion in France

The opening of the Paris office and the integration of AIA marks an important milestone for Oritain in Europe.

Located in the heart of Paris, this local presence brings scientific verification closer to the luxury houses, fashion brands, and retailers that manage global supply chains from France.

In a market where the origin, provenance, and integrity of raw materials carry major commercial and reputational value, this new location answers a growing need: supporting companies as closely as possible on their operational, regulatory, and strategic challenges.

2. Supply chains have become too complex to rely on declarations alone

Discussions highlighted a reality shared by many players in the industry: luxury and fashion supply chains are long, fragmented, and difficult to control from end to end.

A brand's direct supplier is not always where the risk lies. Origin issues often appear further upstream, two or three tiers away, where visibility becomes far more limited.

Materials like leather and cotton illustrate this clearly. They can change hands several times before reaching a finished product, and at each step, the risk of error, substitution, or misdeclaration can increase.

"The supplier is not necessarily trying to cheat. There can also be manufacturing issues upstream in the supply chain, which mean that we need to verify what suppliers declare."

Raynald Anquet, VP Quality & CSR Operations, Lacoste

3. Origin risk is back on the agenda

The 2026 Oritain Supply Chain Intelligence Report reveals a clear warning signal: after three years of progress, the risk linked to prohibited cotton is rising sharply again.

In 2025, 90% of brands tested showed at least one result containing at-risk cotton, up from 64% in 2024. The report shows that risk is increasing across several manufacturing regions: among products tested, 40% of those made in China show a risk signal, compared with 15% for Bangladesh and 13% for the Americas.

Behind this resurgence lies the weight of Xinjiang, which now accounts for 92% of China's cotton production. Even when brands move their manufacturing to other countries, the risk does not disappear. It shifts through flows of yarn, fabric, and subcontracting.

The message is clear: documentation alone is no longer enough. Without independent verification, a brand can be exposed without knowing it.

"Trust does not rule out verification. We can trust our suppliers, but we also need to verify what actually ends up in the finished product. This verification helps reinforce the message to suppliers: traceability is important, but its accuracy is essential."

Guilaine Ipert, Raw Materials Supply Chain Development Manager, Louis Vuitton

4. Declarations and certifications remain useful, but verification is becoming essential

A strong message came out of the panel with Louis Vuitton and Lacoste: supplier declarations, certifications, and paper documentation are an important first step, but they are no longer always enough to secure origin claims.

Regulatory pressure is accelerating, with frameworks such as the UFLPA, the ESPR, the Digital Product Passport, the French duty of vigilance law, and the EU Forced Labour Regulation.

This requirement is already very concrete in some markets. As Raynald Anquet, Vice President Quality & CSR Operations at Lacoste, explained: “US customs authorities now ask for evidence. Declarations on honour are no longer enough.”

Brands must now be able to demonstrate their due diligence efforts with objective, verifiable, and credible evidence.

For Lacoste, this evolution has translated into an approach combining supplier declarations with independent control. “We have moved from a certification-led approach to an approach based on suppliers’ traceability declarations, complemented by an Oritain control plan. This allows us to identify the most reliable suppliers and focus on those that are less reliable, in order to rapidly improve traceability performance,” he also explained.

The stakes are not only regulatory. They are also reputational and commercial. Origin risks can quickly become visible, particularly when NGOs, media outlets, or other stakeholders cross-reference information about supply chains. In fashion and luxury, exposure of this kind directly affects trust, desirability, and brand value.

"We increasingly need evidence, and this evidence can come from the physical verification of what has been declared. It is a way to strengthen documentary traceability and make the information more reliable."

Guilaine Ipert, Raw Materials Supply Chain Development Manager, Louis Vuitton

5. Forensic origin verification complements traceability and raises the bar across the value chain

Traceability maps the path a material is supposed to have followed. It remains an essential pillar of any compliance and risk management program.

Its limits appear, however, when it relies solely on information declared in systems or documents. Traceability tells you what should have happened. It cannot always confirm that the material in hand matches what has been declared.

Scientific verification completes this approach. By analysing the material, Oritain provides independent verification of whether a product is consistent with its claimed origin and closes the gap between the documented journey and real evidence.

The conversations also showed that verification can create positive pressure on suppliers, raise standards, and help move the entire value chain forward.

“Oritain is the simplest and most reliable way for us to verify the traceability that is declared to us.” 
Raynald Anquet, VP Quality & CSR Operations, Lacoste

Moving from declaration to independent forensic origin verification

The Oritain Paris evening confirmed a conviction shared by many in the industry: the future of traceability will not rest solely on more data, more documents, or more declarations.

It will also rest on the ability to verify, independently, that raw materials genuinely match their claimed origins.

Fashion brands, luxury houses, and retailers now face a question that goes further than whether they can trace their supply chains: can they prove what they declare?

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Paris for the quality of the conversations, and to our speakers: Raynald Anquet, Vice President Quality & CSR Operations at Lacoste, Guilaine Ipert,  Raw Materials Supply Chain Development Manager at Louis Vuitton, Gemma Lynch, Chief Customer Officer at Oritain, and Sylvain Bérail, CEO of the Oritain France Laboratory and former CNRS researcher.

The evening marks an important milestone for Oritain in France, with the opening of our Paris office and the Oritain French Laboratory, AIA, right at the heart of the luxury, fashion, and retail community.