Fibers with chemical markers and physical features used for coding

A method for characterizing a fiber sample wherein the fiber sample comprises fibers, wherein the fibers comprise identification fibers,

• wherein a portion of the identification fibers comprise 1 to 100 chemical markers, and
• wherein a portion of the identification fibers exhibit at least one distinct feature,
• wherein the identification fibers comprise of one or more groups of distinguishable identification fibers, each group of the distinguishable identification fibers being formed by the identification fibers having the same distinct feature or a same combination of the distinct features and
• wherein the method comprises:
• chemical analysis comprising
• (1) dissolving a portion of the fiber sample in a solvent to produce a sample solution and/or insolubles;
• and
• (2) analyzing the sample solution and/or the insolubles to identify the chemical markers;
• and
• image analysis comprising
• (1) applying imaging technology to the fiber sample,
• (2) detecting the groups of the distinguishable identification fibers, and
• (3) determining a number of each of the distinguishable identification fibers,
• wherein an amount of each of the chemical markers, based on a weight of the fibers, is defined as a chemical marker amount, wherein at least one of the chemical marker amounts corresponds to a taggant chemical marker amount,
• wherein the number of the identification fibers in each group of the distinguishable identification fibers is defined as a fiber count, wherein at least one of the fiber counts corresponds to a taggant fiber count, and
• wherein (i) the chemical markers, (ii) the taggant chemical marker amounts, (iii) the distinct features in each group of the distinguishable identification fibers, and (iv) the taggant fiber counts are representative of at least one supply chain component of the fiber sample.