Burberry uses blockchain to trace garments

UK – The luxury house is collaborating with IBM on a new product tracing system that gives consumers insight into the lifecycle of their clothing.

The system, Voyage, was created as part of IBM’s Extreme Blue Internship, in which university students were challenged to develop a new product with Burberry’s digital team. Using IBM’s blockchain platform, Voyage identifies a product through scanning a near-field communication tag or entering a product ID, allowing consumers to trace a garment’s production at every stage, even allowing consumers to add additional stages if the clothing is upcycled.

According to Luq Niazi, global managing director at IBM Consumer Industries: ‘We hope that both the students’ experiences and this prototype can inspire new ideas around tackling sustainability and traceability for the fashion industry.’

The Voyage platform uses blockchain to empower consumers to consider each stage of their garment's life. Discover more ways blockchain can be used in our Blockchain in Fashion article.