Avery Dennison and EVRYTHNG partner with 1017 ALYX 9SM allowing consumers to ‘track to the rack’

Brand transparency is more important than ever to consumers, who express growing concerns over sustainable and ethically-sourced fashion, alongside clothing provenance. This ‘track to the rack’ capability is a response to those concerns and allows consumers and brands alike to see an item’s journey from creation to sale, understand exactly where the product has come from and prove its provenance.

By scanning a label with their smartphone, consumers can view the garment’s “journey” and track it back from creation to the rack and point of sale. They can also confirm the authenticity of the product, along with its sustainability credentials. Brands will have full visibility of their product’s journey throughout the supply chain, giving them access to data and statistics, via IOTA’s distributed ledger, across different sales channels and consumer preferences in real time.

This partnership with 1017 ALYX 9SM is one of the first public proofs-of-concept of the solution. Avery Dennison met the ALYX team at last year’s Copenhagen Fashion Summit during an innovation speed dating event hosted by the summit organisers. Avery Dennison has since undertaken a series of internal pilots to get the solution market-ready and will unveil it at this year’s summit as the culmination of an exciting year-long collaboration.

Matthew Williams is an innovative designer who is committed to pushing new ideas forward, and he is currently a Nike collaborator who also worked with Virgil Abloh and Kanye West. Williams built 1017 ALYX 9SM on the concept of high-quality materials mixed with subversive culture, and the garments are produced in Italy.

“Blockchain and distributed ledger technology is the future for effective brand protection,” said Williams. “By supplying product information, supply chain traceability and transparent dialogue with the consumer, the brand’s authenticity is globally secured. Collaborating with Avery Dennison to explore the potential of this software has informed our approach to communication.”

“Unveiling this partnership with ALYX is a big moment for us,” says Debbie Shakespeare, senior director of sustainability and compliance, Avery Dennison. “Our innovative solution combines our Janela platform with a new blockchain layer, providing consumers and brands with fundamental uncompromisable data. Brands and consumers can know that the information they are being shown about the garment’s creation process is 100% accurate and can be trusted implicitly. This is a watershed moment for improving brand transparency and trust.”

“Our collaboration with Avery Dennison and IOTA brings a whole new level of supply chain traceability to the apparel industry,” said Dominique Guinard, co-founder and CTO, EVRYTHNG. “Today’s consumers demand brands demonstrate transparency, authenticity and sustainability in the supply chain. We are excited to partner with Avery Dennison and help 1017 ALYX 9SM deliver this to customers through a new distributed ledger technology-based solution, powered by IOTA. Customers will now be able to access an apparel item’s provenance via a smartphone scan of a QR code label.”

Avery Dennison and 1017 ALYX 9SM will be at Copenhagen Fashion Summit on May 15 and 16, 2019, showcasing items from the ALYX collection that are equipped with the blockchain solution. Visitors will be able to experience firsthand how the solution works and the type of information it presents to brands and consumers.