TruTag Technologies, Inc. has announced to extend their award-winning Truspect technology to the apparel industry to address counterfeiting issue.
Truspect technology incorporates TruTags that has spectrally-encoded microscopic particles covertly embedded directly onto garments through existing product finishes and sewn-in labels, and authenticated using a common mobile phone.
It’s worth noting here that the counterfeited market value is estimated at US $ 1.8 trillion. Although the fashion industry has aggressively combatted the sale of fraudulent products lately, it is still one of the most impacted sectors, losing billions of dollars annually due to counterfeit sales.
As there has been a steep rise in e-commerce, the issue has only exacerbated, because it has become more difficult to verify the product authenticity when introducing third-party sellers.
Unlike traditional clothing authentication solutions that rely on securing the packaging or removable features, Truspect has gone for securing the product directly.
The company provides a secure digital identity to garments that can be authenticated by consumers themselves via the Truspect mobile app, providing peace of mind to the consumer and an extra layer of credibility to the seller.
Michael Bartholomeusz, CEO of TruTag Technologies, commented, “The prevalence of counterfeits has been costly to brands, but more importantly to consumers. Many have paid huge amount for products that were in fact fraudulent and lower quality, and feel they can’t trust many marketplaces where this issue has gotten out of control. Securing product packaging only accounts for part of the problem. Buyers need an all-encompassing solution they can truly depend on.”
It’s worth noting here that TruTag is best known for its smart medicine solution for securing the pharmaceutical supply chain via spectrally-encoded silica particles that serve as covert “edible barcodes” for tablets, capsules and even biologics. The company has recently forayed in the clothing sector.