British luxury brand Mulberry has announced it is introducing digital IDs to its leather goods, in a move made with product circularity in mind.
The decision to implement the new technology is viewed as a way for the company to better connect with its customers, while also increasing transparency about where its goods are from and the supply chain behind them.
A demo of a digitised leather bag will be showcased at the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen today (8 June), by CEO of Mulberry, Thierry Andretta, and Natasha Franck, founder & CEO of EON, the company behind the cloud-based technology.
Due to its membership of the Prince of Wales-backed Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) Fashion Task Force, Mulberry is committed to introducing digital IDs to all products by 2025. It will start by introducing the technology to all vintage pre-loved bags which form part of the brand’s Mulberry Exchange circular economy programme.
Each bag will be connected to a Digital ID powered by EON, enabling customers to tap their smartphones to a NFC-enabled tag to access a personalised digital experience. Consumers using this tool will find information about their item, along with access to exclusive content and services related to authentication, repair, and resale.
The idea, according to the brand, is to create a direct and ongoing connection between Mulberry and their customers for the entire lifecycle of a product.
Digital IDs have already been adopted by Yoox Net-a-Porter, another member of the SMI Fashion Task Force.
“Through the digital ID, Mulberry can offer customers increased transparency into the unique journeys of our products, deliver services such as lifetime repair, buy-back and resale, and ensure that every bag can have multiple lives,” explained Andretta.
“The announcement of this partnership with EON marks an important step in our journey to digitise all our products by 2025, and we’re excited to make real progress towards that goal.”
Franck added: “Brands are moving to implement digital IDs on their entire product portfolios, driven by increased customer demand for product transparency, the booming resale market which requires after-sale connectivity to scale, and upcoming policy which is set to make digital product IDs mandatory.”
[Image credit: Mulberry]
