Business

Avery's New Digital Care Label

Avery Dennison's new digital care label solution allows for traceability and transparency across the supply chain. In addition, new digital revenue streams become possible for the brand as additional products can be marketed to the consumer via this new direct-to-consumer touchpoint. Currently many consumers remove the physical care label, while brands underutilise it. This increases the risk of the garment ending up in landfill rather than being resold or recycled. In contrast, the new digital label helps advance the circular economy as recyclers can be confident of composition and resellers will be able to check authenticity. Ambercycle, Avery Dennison's first partner for its digital care label, converts end-of-life textile 'waste' into new yarns for apparel brands and manufacturers. Its garments are created from polyester textiles that were destined for landfill, but are instead broken down to a molecular level, turned into pellets, and then spun into Cycora yarns which can be processed by garment manufacturers in the same way as virgin yarns. "These labels are an exciting development, as consumers can discover their garment's story, see how it was made, and understand the environmental benefits from their choice," said Sarah Swenson, global senior sustainability manager, Avery Dennison RBIS. "When the consumer no longer needs the item, they can scan the QR code to see what needs to happen to properly dispose of the garment. In this case, if they send the garment back to Ambercycle it will be recycled back into a new textile. Brands can benefit from access to a deeper level of data both in terms of shopper engagement and also understanding just how many items remain in the circular economy."