Burberry has teamed up with interns at computer hardware company IBM to
develop a prototype system to improve product traceability.
The luxury label revealed Thursday that for the past three months its
technology experts have been coaching participants of IBM’s Extreme Blue
internship programme who were tasked with designing, developing, and
testing an innovative new product to track a garment’s traceability.
Named Voyage, the new prototype works by identifying a product through
scanning a near-field communication tag or entering a product ID. Consumers
can then trace a garment’s production journey and lifecycle.
The Voyage prototype was trialled for functionality in Burberry’s mobile app.
It comes as traceability becomes an increasingly important factor in the
fashion industry, with consumers demanding more and more that products are
sustainably and ethically sourced and manufactured.
IBM interns develop garment traceability prototype
“The passion and creativity that IBM’s Extreme Blue interns showed in
developing a prototype solution for a longstanding industry challenge was
exceptional,” Mark McClennon, chief information officer at Burberry, said
in a statement.
“We are delighted to have supported the interns in tackling this
challenge, as cross-functional collaboration across industries is crucial
to building a more sustainable future and inspiring the next generation of
sustainably-minded innovators.”
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Voyage also allows consumers to configure their own sustainability
preferences and receive tailored product recommendations based on their
selections. Consumers can even add additional stages to a garment’s logged
lifecycle, for example if it has been upcycled.
Tara Mulcahy-Murray, an engineering student at the University of Oxford
who worked on the prototype, said: “We thought about what consumers might
want to know about their clothes and how we could address their concerns.
Our aim was to give consumers more information about each product before it
reaches the store, so they can make more informed purchasing decisions.”
Photo credit: Burberry