Oritain Takes the Stage With Global Leaders at World Bank Group Event

Oritain joined leaders from the World Bank, government, business and the global apparel sector at the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group in Bangkok for the panel From Cotton to Capital: Shared Value for Better Jobs.

Baroness Theresa May, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Paschal Donohoe, World Bank Group Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer, opened the session with a discussion about how responsible trade, labor standards and investment can go together.

Oritain then joined representatives from H&M Group, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers & Exporters Association and the Government of Uzbekistan to examine how trusted origin can support responsible investment and market access. Oritain’s participation reflected the growing relevance of forensic origin verification to trade, development and investment.

 

From cotton to capital: Creating shared value for better jobs

As businesses, governments and investors seek stronger economies and more resilient supply chains, the shared challenge is ensuring that growth delivers safer, more productive work and wider economic opportunity.

The panel focused on the human impact of global trade, including labor conditions, responsible production and the role of business and investment in improving outcomes for workers and communities.

For Oritain, an important part of that picture is trust in where products and raw materials come from.

“Access to markets increasingly depends on whether a product’s origin can be trusted,” said Sarah Scott, Chief Marketing Officer at Oritain. “Origin can determine whether goods cross a border, whether buyers pay a premium and whether responsible production is recognized and rewarded. The challenge is turning a claim of origin into credible, independent evidence that can support sourcing, trade and investment decisions.”

 

Building trust from origin

Clearer evidence of origin helps businesses, governments and investors understand the supply chains they support and make better-informed decisions.

Certificates, declarations and audits remain important, but documents alone cannot verify a product’s physical origin. Forensic analysis adds independent evidence drawn from the product or raw material itself.

Oritain analyses naturally occurring chemical characteristics, including stable isotopes and trace elements, to assess whether products and raw materials are consistent with their claimed geographical origin.

“When you peel away the paperwork, cotton grown in the USA or Bangladesh looks very different from cotton grown in India or Uzbekistan,” said Sarah. “Forensic origin verification gives regulators, buyers and suppliers results they can defend.”

 

Origin verification on the global stage

The IMF and World Bank Group Annual Meetings bring together leaders from across government, finance, development and business to address some of the most significant issues shaping the global economy.

Oritain’s participation reflects the expanding role of origin evidence. Once largely a sourcing and supply chain concern, it now informs decisions across trade, investment and economic development, helping producers, suppliers, brands, governments and investors build greater confidence in global commerce.

The Bangkok discussion reinforced a shared ambition: global trade and economic growth should create value throughout the supply chain, including for the people and communities behind the products the world depends on. Verified origin helps make that ambition more measurable, credible and defensible.

The message from Bangkok was clear. The technology to verify origin from the product itself is already here. The opportunity now is to build it into how we trade and invest. 

 

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