One of the The biggest fashion trend of the end of 2021 not related to color or length of skirt or sequins but with Sustainability. Or specifically, the emergence of clothing labels with data that consumers can use to track the generation of a potential purchase.
The roots of this trend go back at least to 2019, when Sheep Inc., a London-based hosiery brand, introduced NFC tags — or near-field communication (the same technology that enables contactless payments). contact) is attached to sweater hems – allows customers to track the supply chain of Merino sweaters through an app.
At the Group of 20 meeting in October 2021, Prince Charles’s Sustainable Markets Initiative Fashion Task Force presented a “digital ID”, which can track a fashion item. from production to sale and even resale. It will be used by 15 Taskforce brands and retailers including Armani, Mulberry and Chloé this year before becoming more widely available.
And British startup Provenance has developed software to track the supply chain of items from the field to finished clothing. Provenance’s technology was first used last fall by Ganni, a Danish brand.
However, it was December, Nisolo, a sustainable shoes Brands in Nashville, Tennessee, introduced what may be the most familiar-looking label of all: the “Sustainability Information” label inspired by the nutrition information box on many food products.
Here’s a rundown of how it all works.
Q: What is the difference between these labels and the clothing labels I usually see on my shirts and sweaters?
A: For many years, clothing label provided simple information like the country where the item was manufactured and its ingredients in percentage.
But if it’s a cotton t-shirt, the label doesn’t explain anything, such as where and how the cotton is grown or whether the people who pick it are paid a living wage. . Or if it’s a cardigan, where did the wool come from and if the sheep were treated humanely? New labels provide more details.
Q: How does it work?
A: Each labeling system is different.
With Sheep Inc., you hold your smartphone on a nickel-sized, plastic tab made from a biodegradable castor bean derivative. An app page will then open, where you can see “which flock the sheep are in, the date of the short wool, when the lamb was last vaccinated or given birth, the sheep’s journey from New Zealand to New Zealand. to the factory, to the knitters. , fulfillment center and for the customer,” said Alexander Lewis, chief designer of Sheep Inc.
For the digital ID, which Fashion Taskforce has developed in conjunction with EON, a digital identity company, you scan the QR code on the label or the NFC embedded in the item. That also takes you to an application page, which details the materials involved and the authenticity of the product – a useful tool for the second-hand market, where the trade in counterfeits remains a problem. serious problem and for recycling, as ingredients such as dyes and buttons are determined.
In the Provenance system, information is accessed by clicking Online Shopping communication. Jessi Baker, founder of Provenance, said: “Assuming the shirt is made from organic cotton – you can click ‘cotton’ and see water usage, carbon reduction, worker impact. . “You can see where the plant is on the map.” There are plans to embed similar information in QR codes on swing tags and labels.
Q: It sounds confusing, and it’s like reading the leaflets for the medicine box. What if you want to skip all that?
A: You might like Nisolo’s “Sustainable Events” label. Patrick Woodyard, the brand’s chief executive officer, said the company spent three years and $500,000 developing the label, which appears in their shoebox, and swaps out vitamins and minerals for social and environmental effects. of the product – or what he calls “people and the planet. ”
The reviews are divided into 12 categories, including wages, healthcare, materials and packaging. Each item is listed as a percentage, so if everyone in the item’s supply chain is paid a living wage – as determined by the Global Living Wage Alliance – the score is 100%; if nine out of 10 factories offer maternity or healthcare leave, that score is 90%. (There will also be a QR code on the shoe bag and on an accessory hang tag that customers can scan).
You may not fully understand the individual metrics – analyzing the living wage in a particular country is like figuring out what the trans fats in Pop Tarts are. Nisolo says its data comes from 31 sources, including the Higg Index, the Textile Exchange and Good on You, as well as from its own research.
For example, the label for the Chelsea Boot Everyday Shoe, one of Nisolo’s most popular styles, tells you that these shoe factories are doing pretty well when it comes to health and wellness benefits, but could improved “packaging and distribution” (plan to reduce packaging materials by 50%).
The idea, Woodyard said, is for the label to “become a recognition tool — so brands can see their weaknesses — as well as an accountability tool.” So, he said, the software is freely available, so anyone can use it.
Q: So does this type of label make me smarter in buying my clothes?
A: Any traceable identifier is “definitely a step in the right direction,” says Dilys Williams, professor of fashion design in sustainability at the Center for Sustainable Fashion at the University of the Arts London. said. Ultimately, however, fashion, like the food industry, will “have to get to the point where everyone uses the same format,” she said. “Only then will we have a really good system.”
(This article originally appeared in The New York Times.)
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