148 www. t e c h n o l o g y r e c o r d . c om such as multinational confectionery, food, beverage and snack food company Mondelēz International, as well as French dairy ingredients producer Ingredia. “Traceability and transparency are some of the key elements of determining if a product is from sustainable sources, and Connecting Food’s blockchain-based solutions ensure trust in the source data,” says Rajagopalan. “Not only do Connecting Food’s digital transparency solutions create value for agri-food players, but they also restore consumer confidence in food.” Retailers and CGs are also exploring how they can recycle, reuse, repurpose and resell products at the end of their life cycles. The resale model has been a mainstay for some time in categories like electronics and sporting goods, but it is quickly becoming popular with fashion, accessories, and home furnishings brands too. “Re-commerce extends the life of a product, thereby reducing its overall carbon footprint and preventing items from stacking up in landfills,” explains Rajagopalan. “Circular fashion considers materials and production thoughtfully, emphasising the value of continuing to use a product right to the end of its life cycle, and then going one step further by repurposing it into something useful. “To facilitate this, retailers need to trace a product’s full life cycle to validate its authenticity for resale. But challenges with tracing products past the point of purchase and through reverse logistics have long plagued retailers.” New York City-based tech start-up EON is partnering with brands, retailers and other stakeholders across the fashion industry to overcome this issue by building a Connected Products Economy. Using an internet of things (IoT) platform powered by Azure and Microsoft Cognitive Services, EON generates a digital identity for every garment, which contains information about the raw materials and origins of the product, and more. EON then embeds a QR code, radio-frequency identification or other type of tag into every garment, which can be scanned as the product moves through different stages of its life cycle, creating an accurate data record. Shoppers now want retailers to offer cleaner, greener and healthier products than in the past F E ATUR E
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