Avery Dennison has launched a complete digital care label solution, linked to an app that details how the specific garment was produced and how it should be looked after.
The solution comprises a physical care label with a QR code that acts as a digital trigger linking the label to an app and data platform.
With these intelligent care labels, garments can now act as a digital passport providing detail on how the garment was manufactured and the materials it contains, while also providing a ‘digital launching point’ for brands to extend their relationship with their customers, Avery Dennison explains.
The firm has partnered with Los Angeles-based, post-consumer garment recycler Ambercycle to showcase the solution, with intelligent care labels attached to Ambercycle’s garments.
Legally, all garments sold must have a physical care and content label to communicate product information, such as washing instructions and material composition. This information is not just helpful for consumers, it is also vital for recyclers and resellers as it allows them to easily identify what the garment is made of after the original owner has disposed of it.
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By GlobalDataAvery Dennison’s new digital care label solution allows for traceability and transparency across the supply chain. In addition, new digital revenue streams become possible for the brand as additional products can be marketed to the consumer via this new direct-to-consumer touchpoint.
Currently, many consumers remove the physical care label, while brands underutilise it, the firm says, adding this increases the risk of the garment ending up in landfill rather than being resold or recycled. In contrast, the new digital label helps advance the circular economy as recyclers can be confident of composition and resellers will be able to check authenticity.
Sarah Swenson, global senior sustainability manager, Avery Dennison RBIS, explains the labels enable consumers to discover their garment’s story, see how it was made, and understand the environmental benefits from their choice.
“When the consumer no longer needs the item, they can scan the QR code to see what needs to happen to properly dispose of the garment. In this case, if they send the garment back to Ambercycle it will be recycled back into a new textile. Brands can benefit from access to a deeper level of data both in terms of shopper engagement and also understanding just how many items remain in the circular economy.”
Ambercycle, Avery Dennison’s first partner for its digital care label, converts end-of-life textile ‘waste’ into new yarns for apparel brands and manufacturers. Its garments are created from polyester textiles that were destined for landfill, but are instead broken down to a molecular level, turned into pellets, and then spun into Cycora yarns which can be processed by garment manufacturers in the same way as virgin yarns.
CEO Shay Sethi adds: “Our raw materials are end-of-life textile clothing that we regenerate into new Cycora yarns and fabrics. A key concern in this process is the upfront identification and sorting the different types of fabrics to inform the best end-of-life solutions. A digital care label is essential to embracing the broader vision for circularity, as it enables a more streamlined and scalable way for us to regenerate material.
“As we built the physical infrastructure to take in and reprocess material, we knew we had to think about the digital infrastructure to enable full circularity. The digital care labels in collection one will help us track Cycora garments so that their path to be Ambercycled again at their end of life is seamless. Together with Avery Dennison, we believe this will be a transformative step forward into the inevitable circular future.”
