An apparatus and method in which one or more taggants (48) that are intrinsically located-or extrinsically placed-in an article or product (11), such as carpet. The taggants (48) are detected by x-ray fluorescence analysis (23) to identify or verify the article (11) or its point of manufacture. The taggants (48) are manufactured as part of the article (11) or the taggant (48) is placed into a coating, label, or otherwise embedded within the article (11) for the purpose of later verifying the presence or absence of these elements by x-ray fluorescence, thus determining the unique elemental composition of the taggant (48) within the article (11).
