20 May 2021, by Hannah Abdulla
Avery Dennison’s intelligent care labels provide 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.
This launch is 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, allowing for traceability and transparency across the supply chain. While also providing a ‘digital launching point’ for brands to extend their relationship with their customers via this new direct-to-consumer touchpoint.
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.
Sarah Swenson, global senior sustainability manager at Avery Dennison RBIS said, “These labels are an exciting development, as consumers can 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 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 from Ambercycle 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 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.”
Reference:
Abdulla, H. (2021, May 20). Avery Dennison debuts digital care label for apparel. Just Style.