Kathmandu launches digital id technology, powered by EON
Kathmandu, Australia and New Zealand’s no 1 outdoor brand, has announced it is the first ANZ apparel brand to partner with technology platform, EON, to roll out Digital IDs.
Digital IDs, powered by EON, offer a new way to engage consumers through storing and recording a product’s history and by telling its story from manufacture through customer use, resale, reuse, and recycling. Accessed through a QR code or NFC tag, Digital IDs provide access to this information via a unique URL that is specific to the product purchased.
Kathmandu’s Digital IDs
A unique Digital ID – represented by a QR code – is sewn into every Kathmandu Heli R down jacket. Using their smartphone, Kathmandu customers can scan their jacket’s code to discover item-specific information, including its design and manufacturing process, the factory it was made in, the materials used to make it, repair information, and eventually, traceability and resell recommendations.
The purpose of Digital IDs is to deliver greater transparency to customers on the way their clothes are made. This initiative also involves Kathmandu customers in circularity, by building a greater understanding of a product’s lifecycle.
“As a certified B Corporation, we balance people and planet in all elements of business. We have bold ESG targets, with a commitment to divert 90% of our waste from ending up in landfill by 2030.
Partnering with EON is an innovative step towards our circularity ambitions, helping shift customer mindset to think circular, by giving them the option to repair their product and eventually access to resale and recycle information for when their Heli R is no longer serving them but is still in excellent condition to serve someone else,” said Kathmandu General Manager of Product, Robert Fry.
This marks the beginning of Kathmandu’s Digital ID journey, with the ambition to build traceability and resell components into a customer’s experience across a range of products over time.
Kathmandu’s Heli R jacket is a groundbreakingly better version than its original Heli, made 25% lighter and more compressible, while using 100% recycled materials everywhere possible – including face, liner and zipper fabrics, trims and labels. The jacket is also filled with down that has been independently certified to the Responsible Down Standard (RDS).
The Heli R, featuring unique Digital ID technology, is available in-store and online across Australia and New Zealand. To learn more about the product, visit www.kathmandu.com.au/heli-r or www.kathmandu.co.nz/heli-r.
