The fashion industry is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by evolving consumer expectations, technological advancements, and stringent regulatory landscapes. Connected packaging - integrating digital technologies such as QR codes and NFC tags into product packaging - offers fashion brands innovative avenues to enhance compliance, engage consumers, and protect brand integrity.

There are many benefits to implementing a globally scaled connected packaging program to manage and deploy QR code and NFC campaigns , while integrating seamlessly with GS1 standards, Digital Product Passports (DPPs) and meeting regulatory requirements. Below we have outlined some key considerations.

EU Regulations: Navigating New Pressures in Fashion

Fashion products within the European Union are subject to comprehensive upcoming regulations to ensure safety, transparency, and sustainability:

• Textile Labelling: Regulation (EU) No 1007/2011 mandates that textile products carry labels indicating Fiber composition, which must be durable, easily legible, visible, and securely attached. Additionally, labels should be in the official language of the member state where the products are sold.

• Packaging and Packaging Waste: The EU’s new Packaging Regulation, effective from February 11, 2025, introduces stringent requirements on sustainability, recyclability, and the reduction of single-use plastics for products sold in the EU.

• Digital Product Passports (DPPs): The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) mandates that all goods sold in the EU feature Digital Product Passports by 2030. DPPs will necessitate transparency in supply chains and improve recycling and resale. To comply, companies must collect data on product performance, material origins, and environmental impacts (see more below).

Meeting regulatory compliance by giving consumers the information that they need, when they need it, can involve detailed information being crammed into labels, tags, but a connected approach can transform this transactional and compliance focused activity into a brand experience for the user that can underpin a brand’s heritage, beliefs and values.

Here connected packaging comes into its own, with a simple QR code able to provide all the complex information required and in an engaging way that encourages transparency and consumer trust. Not only that, but the option of swapping out the QR code for an NFC tag allows brands to ensure this information is safe against washing and opens up more opportunities for authentication (more on that later).

How Connected Packaging Drives Consumer Engagement

Alongside the regulatory requirements placed upon fashion brands, connected packaging can transform traditional fashion retail experiences and products into interactive platforms, offering consumers enriched, even luxury, experiences and fostering deeper brand relationships:

• Interactive Product Information: By scanning a QR code or tapping an NFC tag, consumers can access detailed information about the product’s origin, materials used, and sustainability practices, aligning with the growing demand for transparency.

• Authenticity Verification: Connected packaging allows consumers to verify the authenticity of fashion items instantly, combating counterfeit products and enhancing brand trust.

• Personalised Experiences: Brands can deliver tailored content, such as styling tips, care instructions, or exclusive offers, enhancing the consumer’s connection to the brand and tailoring it to them through technology like Augmented Reality (AR).

• Enhanced Retail Activation: Transforming retail locations into mixed reality environments where consumers can have both a physical and digital experience of the brand.

• Dynamic Content: Platforms such as io.tt are able to make the connected packaging experiences dynamic based on time, location, product, number of scans etc. This enables brands to drive more engaging experiences that are more suited to each consumer’s individual needs – at scale.

Case Study: Levis x GANNI Product Journey

Levi’s and GANNI created connected product stories for their pioneering clothes rental programme. NFC tags in the iconic Levi's back-patch in the collection allowed consumers to discover the journey of the rental jeans through product stories, with each renter able to add their own messages for the next, as well as access care tips. See more here.

Case Study: Balmain x Pokémon Collectable Prizes

Luxury fashion brand Balmain Paris added NFC tags to jackets and patches in its Balmain x Pokémon range that enable purchasers to unlock rewards and access an immersive digital experience by tapping the tag with their Apple or Android NFC smartphone. See more here.

Case Study: JW Anderson AR Experience

JW Anderson used its pop-up store in Selfridges to create an AR ‘Pleasure Garden’ with blooming flowers, roaming wildlife, and sprouting mushrooms that came to life as users moved around. Each moment brought urban dwellers back to nature, which they could then share on their social media. See more here.

Brand Protection: Combating Counterfeits with Connected Packaging

The luxury industry faces significant challenges with counterfeit products. Just last year Fortune magazine reported that: “Prada and Dior counterfeits are soaring in popularity because Gen Z is trying to ‘achieve a sense of social equality’”. And Forbes magazine reported that the counterfeit shoe market alone was valued at $600bn and the counterfeit watch market valued at over $9bn.

In this environment, connected packaging can serve as a robust defence mechanism - some of the key considerations include:

• Product Authentication: Unique digital identifiers embedded in packaging allow consumers and retailers to verify product authenticity instantly, deterring counterfeiters. These can be delivered using QR code, or via NFC.

• Supply Chain Transparency: Connected packaging enables tracking of products throughout the supply chain, ensuring transparency and reducing the risk of counterfeit goods entering the market – and scans on counterfeit products can help identify hotspots of illegal activity.

• Product Safety: Counterfeit products are unlikely to adhere to safety standards in their respective markets – authentication allows consumers to avoid potentially hazardous materials.

These measures not only help to protect consumers from fakes and protect brands, but they also support the growing fashion circularity movement by providing an important level of trust for consumers that the recycled / second hand luxury items they are buying are authentic.

Digital Product Passports (DPPs) and the Future of Transparency and Circularity in the Fashion Industry

A key element in the growth of circularity is the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which entered into force on 18 July 2024. It is the cornerstone of the European Commission’s approach to more environmentally sustainable and circular products.

The ESPR will introduce a Digital Product Passport (DPP), a digital identity card for products, components, and materials, which will store relevant information to support products’ sustainability, promote their circularity and strengthen legal compliance. This information will be accessible electronically, making it easier for consumers, manufacturers, and authorities to make more informed decisions related to sustainability, circularity and regulatory compliance. Information to be included in the DPP will be identified by the Commission, in close consultation with all relevant stakeholders, and will depend on the specific product in question.

Digital Product Passports will be applied to prioritised industries that include batteries & vehicles, textiles, electronics & ICT, furniture, plastics, construction and chemicals, with an expectation that they will be rolled out by 2030. DPPs delivered by connected packaging, driven by serialised QR codes, are an excellent way to manage this complex regulation at scale – giving consumers access to vast amount of information, in an easy to read way.

Roadmap for Adopting Connected Packaging in the Fashion Industry

1. Assess Regulatory Requirements: Understand and align with EU regulations related to packaging, labelling, and product safety.

2. Select the Right Platform: Find a platform (such as io.tt) that best suits your brand's objectives and regulatory requirements, taking into account GS1 standards, as well as dynamic and serialised QR codes.

3. Prepare for Digital Product Passports: Begin collecting and organising product data to comply with upcoming DPP requirements, ensuring transparency and sustainability.

4. Create Your Portfolio of Experiences: Start creating your connected product experiences at scale, keeping in mind what each experience's objectives and requirements are. Keeping these organised and segmented in a platform (like io.tt) by purpose (such as regulatory vs. consumer engagement) is a good idea to manage them correctly over time.

5. Implement Authentication Measures: Incorporate features that allow consumers to verify product authenticity, protecting against counterfeiting.

6. Analyse Consumer Data: Use the data gathered by these interactions in your management platform, to drive valuable insights about your product's usage, and supplement your marketing efforts with it.

7. Monitor and Improve: Continuously assess the effectiveness of connected packaging initiatives and refine approaches based on consumer feedback and technological advancements. 

Embracing connected packaging is a strategic imperative for fashion brands aiming to comply with regulations, engage consumers, and protect brand integrity in an increasingly digital and transparent marketplace.

If you're a fashion brand looking for help with your regulatory compliance and consumer engagement - get in touch and we can talk you through our platform io.tt or even start you on a free trial.