With the proliferation of mobile technology, the brand owners can add a layer of digital protection to enable field investigation, while limiting authentication knowledge for maximum protection. Brands can employ multiple field investigators that are neither product nor authentication experts to scan questionable garments, which automatically send reports back to headquarters for authentication. As markets become increasingly global, this digital component is vital to enabling brands to drive large, global authentication campaigns, without risking exposure of their specific authentication measures. By using this critical digital component, even the efforts of the best counterfeiters may not be able to mimic the brands exact identifiers.
Labels, which are sewn-in or sealed on, form an integral part of the product and are one of the preferred methods for authenticating goods. Since labels are a permanent part of a product and physically convey the brand’s identity, they are an ideal vehicle to carry a brand protection solution. Brand labels applied during the manufacturing process that include security features further provide the brand with the lowest total applied cost by incorporating brand protection into the core labeling.
Label security techniques can include both physically overt or covert elements, but more brands are trending toward utilizing data elements tied to item level serialization, which provide opportunities for both authentication and identifying gray market. Although they are often imitated, security labels can be extremely difficult to duplicate. The addition of product specific serialization creates a further barrier for counterfeit activity.
RFID item-level authentication based on EPC serialization ensures integrity and visibility across the entire global supply chain, facilitating immediate product authentication and shipment tracking while reducing the risk of counterfeiting and diversion.
