Smart tracks
The emergence of new business models and the likely implementation of digital product passports may require new features and functions that warrant extending the range of traceability technologies.
Year, size, gender, style. Fibre origin and composition. Chemicals, additives and dyes. Certifications and maybe an eco-impact rating or eco-score. Some of these data points are easy enough for brands and retailers to obtain and verify, others less so. Some information is useful only for supply chain purposes, but some could be required in time for large-scale recycling facilities. And before an item of clothing reaches that stage, keeping track of a product when it is in the hands of its actual user has high brand-building potential, via storytelling, loyalty programmes, and so on.
In these new scenarios, purely digital tracing technologies might not offer the necessary features or guarantees; the product itself may need to be identifiable throughout its entire life. It can be argued that it should be ‘readable’ by a user, reseller, renter and recycler. Labels using quick-response (QR) codes, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags or near field communication (NFC) chips, or a combination of these, make the connection between a piece of clothing and the trove of information stored in online databases.
Drawing on its expertise in making jacquard braiding, Maison Neyret developed a woven QR code label nearly a decade ago. Based in Saint-Etienne since 1823, the family-owned company is also a maker of composition and care labels. The high degree of variability that these tags have come to require, with translations in dozens of languages, led the company to digitise its production process early on. It was a first step in the engineering of a jacquard loom capable of weaving several million unique QR codes in a single run. “This is the first smart label we developed, and it is the direct result of the company’s two skills: jacquard weaving and software development,” says Sylvain Rivoire, its marketing and innovation manager. It is no coincidence that jacquard looms are considered forerunners of today’s computers. They are an early system based on 0s and 1s, rendered in the form of punched cards.
This unique jacquard QR code is now managed by Sansara, Neyret’s digital division, and more than 4 million labels are in circulation today, says Mr Rivoire. They are made from certified recycled yarns and can be recycled without being removed from the product. This would not be the case with an RFID or NFC tag: these are considered e-waste and must be disposed of accordingly. A QR code can be copied, but Sylvain Rivoire says that a woven label is a bit more difficult to clone and Neyret includes encrypted elements to prevent fraud. They do not add extra cost to garment manufacturing, as they are sewn in with a composition label. This could be an issue for this type of smart tag as consumers may be tempted to cut it off. “We may need to change our habits with regards to labels,” suggests Mr Rivoire. He notes that there is a business case for this, “a product without its original label will have less value on the resale market.”
To cover all of the apparel industry’s traceability needs, from supply chain management (SCM) to sustainability monitoring and to consumer engagement, Neyret now offers an entire range of digital and physical tracing solutions that connect to an online platform, Scalabel, where data is stored and can be made accessible, or not, to a product’s various stakeholders.
Chip in a yarn
Like QR codes, which became mainstream during covid-19, we are generally familiar with the large square RFID tags affixed to goods. These SCM and anti-theft devices are now essential for retailers, but they are relatively cumbersome and usually quickly cut off by a wearer. Consumers are less likely to remove an RFID tag in the form of a length of thread as they will simply not know where it is. Adetexs, a UK company, and Primo1D, in France, have developed such microchip-embedded yarns. RFID makes it possible to scan and identify the contents of a shipping box or a container of goods in one go, which is why it is widely used. It does, however, usually require a special reader, not usually found in smartphones, limiting its benefits as a brand marketing tool.
After extensive research, French sports retailer Decathlon chose Primo1D’s RFID E-Thread as its preferred traceability technology. The fact that users will not feel it was a big draw, says Jérôme Lemay, Decathlon’s head of industrial RFID. He adds that QR codes were ruled out because they can only be read at close range and can fade with washing, and that NFC chips might resist laundering but also have short scanning ranges. The retailer was looking for a technology that lasts the life of a product, up to its recycling.
Founded in 2013, Primo1D developed its RFID-embedded yarn at the CEA-Leti research centre in Grenoble. Flexible and durable, it is imperceptible in an item of clothing and allows real-time and high-speed product identification for traceability, authentication, Industry 4.0, and future automated sorting. The company is currently scaling up production. It has one line running at its headquarters, also in Grenoble, where a 4-metre-long machine produces the smart tag in two formats: embedded in a yarn or a ribbon. Currently available in white, a darker shade is in the pipeline, Valériane Henry, business development manager, tells WSA. The slim tags can be inset in an interlock seam or a hem using a machine the company has developed and patented. The microchip itself is connected to two antennas, whose length depends on need. “A 13 to 14 cm long antenna can be read from a distance of 12 metres,” Ms Henry says. A robust technology, it can withstand 100 home launderings, as well as dyeing and finishing processes. “Our E-Thread is integrated during manufacturing and will last until a product ends up in a sorting facility,” she says, adding that it can also be useful for new business models such as rental, resale and repair, as well as, of course, a future digital product passport (DPP).
The RFID Thread technology, invented by Dr Anura Rathnayake, founder of Adetexs (formerly EON.ID), is similar in that a tiny microchip is embedded in a yarn and its 10cm recycled metal antenna is encapsulated in resin, allowing it to withstand 200°C washings. It is now also available paired with an NFC ring, says Alison Jose, founder and CEO of Global Circular Network (formerly Circlolink), which is looking to scale up its adoption. The Australian national lives in India where she is specifically seeking to convince and support small businesses and even artisans to adopt the smart tag. CIRPASS, an EU consortium working on the backend of the future European DPP, is evaluating the technology, which has recently been chosen by Nordic Circular Hotspot, an organisation seeking to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in the Nordic countries. Ms Jose expects this partnership to kick off bulk manufacturing, and thus reduce the cost of the smart thread.
Promoting reuse before recycling
“We are putting economy in the circular economy,” she says. “In addition to bulk scanning, the RFID Thread can streamline resale, rental and repair services. It can also make design for longevity an asset as it will record a product’s impact throughout its use, by various owners, and thus contribute to a company’s sustainability goals. We need to offer brands a return on investment that makes it worthwhile for them to adopt the technology. The point is to extend a product’s life, not recycle it.”
At a product’s end of life, sorters will need to remove the electronic tag, but she says that this is the starting point of its own resale and reuse. “This creates a new revenue stream for sorting facilities that have a hard time making money these days,” she points out. As a special reader is needed to access data, it leaves out consumer engagement, unless the RFID thread is combined with an NFC chip. But then, its placement needs to be made visible.
Smart accessories
YKK’s TouchLink turns an essential element of a zipper, its puller, into a smart accessory by placing an NFC tag inside. The chip’s placement itself is an asset. Unlike a sewn label, its owner will not remove it and it is easy to access. But it was no easy feat to develop. “The microchip cannot be embedded in metal and requires a TPU material,” says TouchLink product manager, Brian La Plante. It is also “heat sensitive to a degree, which implies controlling its environment during manufacturing.” It has been tested to withstand 50 industrial laundry cycles. While the chip itself is tiny, its antenna needs some space. “Its design directly affects its ability to broadcast,” he says. The Japanese company is constantly working to extend its range, which is about 5cm today.
TouchLink was first trialled by Swedish outdoor brand Houdini in 2021, and is currently used by sports brands Artilect in the US and Portance in Germany. The smart puller is available on size 5 zippers (coil and Vislon) and YKK plans to introduce a model suitable for luggage.
The short transmission range of an NFC chip means that a TouchLink zipper does not allow bulk scanning, but it does enable two-way communication, says Mr La Plante. “A lot of time, energy and money goes into getting a product into the hands of a consumer, and that is when a brand loses its connection both to its product and its buyer.” Additional features, new ways of engaging with customers, services that could even generate supplementary revenue, can be added to an NFC-tagged item after it has been sold. YKK has partnered with several software companies to offer different after-sales services, from basic traceability for rental or resale, to anti-theft, customer engagement and even AI-powered functions. Mr La Plante doubts that NFC chips, or QR codes, will be useful at the end of a product’s life. “Given the mountains of clothing collectors receive, sorters and processors need a technology that is fast and at scale. Will they have time to scan a QR code or a chip? Probably not,” he says.
The issue of interoperability
The data that these electronic tags carry, or rather link to, can be made accessible or not, and can be modified, as they basically just store an internet address or URL. In theory, this makes them versatile, readable or editable by a company’s SCM software, or online and in store for a retailer. “It is just a matter of adding a brick to the software, it is not difficult,” says Mr Rivoire, at Neyret.
“Interoperability is inevitable,” says Stéphane Popescu, founder of COSE 361, a French sustainability consultancy. “Today, these technologies are not yet mature. But look at email. Whatever system you use, gmail, Outlook, or whatever, we can send each other emails without ‘interruption’ because service providers have made it interoperable.” He does not see why traceability shouldn’t be the same, and believes interoperability will be “accelerated by regulations such as the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and digital product passports.” A solution provider may want to keep its customers in a closed platform, but he says this is “untenable in the long term” and would contribute to “traceability fatigue”.
Digital or physical?
For Mr Popescu, there is no reason to pit digital and physical traceability solutions against each other. “They are complementary and, in the future, will be enmeshed. Digital traceability is a prerequisite as it enables data mapping and sharing, but a physical tag links that information to a specific product.” This, he says, ensures a higher level of security with regard to data veracity.
To make the right choice, COSE 361 recommends putting together a multidisciplinary team, as it requires skills in many areas, from IT to production and purchasing, marketing and communications and to legal and finance. One of the pitfalls that Mr Popescu sees is that brands limit their investment in traceability to basic compliance requirements: “Companies should use ESPR and DPP as a means of adding value, whether economic or intangible, to strengthen their position in the market.” Brian La Plane, at YKK, agrees: “A brand will always see it as a cost. I am waiting for brands to understand that they can use these technologies to maximise consumer engagement and create new revenue streams. Instead of being just imposed by law, it should be a value-add.”
The future roll-out of impact ratings or eco-scores may encourage the adoption of these technologies. “In France, we have experience with their application on food. Eco-scores are not perfect, but they do help consumers make better choices,” says Mr Rivoire. Alison Jose, at Global Circular Network, remarks that “it is going to be difficult for smaller companies to meet their compliance obligations. Our impact rating system will make it more compelling to collect data.” A widespread deployment of these smart tags ultimately depends on two factors. For one, that their implementation be less costly or mandatory. Second, they allow new services that can strengthen a brand’s image or generate new revenue. Only then will it be truly worthwhile to keep trace of a product digitally and physically.
US outdoor brand Artilect has integrated a YKK TouchLink smart zipper in its Divide Fusion Stretch Hoodie.
CREDIT: Artilect
