Digitalisation
Blockchain is the futuristic technology behind the Bitcoin and Ethereum innovations that has kept the financial world on its toes.
Bitcoin Magazine, which tracks developments in its own sector, cut through the jargon, and
explained: “The result of this union (between the two setups in question) is called FashTech, where
a clothing collection can be verified on the blockchain through near field communications (NFC)—
which allows devices to communicate with one another when brought into close proximity—or by
scanning the QR code on the label. A person’s phone communicates with the small VeChain chip
embedded inside the clothing or accessory, which then tells its ‘story’ to the consumer.”
But what did this technology do? “The chip holds a unique public and private key pair. The public
key is also stored in the blockchain and can be verified by the VeChain app. The app then verifies
the public key with the VeChain se rvers to determine if the public key is genuine. As a result,
product safety and quality assurance are maintained, helping to drive customer satisfaction.”
BitSE’s cutting edge VeChain innovation is essentially a cloud product management solution
integrated with blockchain technology that puts unique IDs on the blockchain and can verify if an
item is genuine or not. “It focuses on four areas: anti-counterfeiting, supply chain management,
asset management, and client experiences, each of which can be used independently or
synergistically.” It seemed to be, and rightly so, a technology that could sort out innumerable
issues. After all, the industry had been grappling with many.
Till this point, since 2008 in fact, this technology was used only in the banking sector since
transactions could be traced up and down a chain. The outcome, that was earlier only the digital
currency called Bitcoin, has now developed into blockchain. The idea remains the same: a
decentralised digital property that is traceable.
Any brand that has been driven to its wit’s end trying to figure out how to tackle counterfeiting
has reason to cheer. Customers can now easily tell if a garment is genuine or fake. A microchip
embedded in the garment can easily affirm not only whether it is genuine or fake, but also say
whether it has been stolen, where it was manufactured— in short, its entire life history.
Those worried about intellectual property issues would be thrilled; but then so would be all those
concerned about the opaqueness of supply chains. A chip can tell who made the product, the
conditions they worked in, and how much they were paid. As and when this technology becomes
all-pervasive, the allegations and counter-arguments over disasters like Rana Plaza would be
history. Not only would sweatshop operators land up in the dock, manufacturers too now need to
come clean, for not only the fabric’s composition can be ascertained, where the cotton was grown,
which polyester compounds are used, what chemicals have been used for bleaching would also be
known to a customer. That’s transparency as it has never been known.
Brands would of course feel elated—they can now tackle counterfeiting at a different level, and
build up customer loyalty, besides speeding up the supply chain. Crackdowns by law enforcement
42 | FIBRE 2 FASHION NOVEMBER 2017