Markings for textiles, industrial fibers and wearables
Manufacturers of well-known labels can tell you a thing or two about this: Whether it’s high-quality brand-name clothing, hip accessories or trendy shoes – no sooner does the new product hit the market than it turns up as a fake. Product counterfeiting, imitations and plagiarism cost German textile companies billions. Even today, the danger posed by fakes and counterfeit products is often underestimated by companies. Consumers, on the other hand, are in most cases unaware of the consequences of “bargain hunting”.
Markings for textiles, industrial fibers and wearables
With every counterfeit product, profits are siphoned off and diverted into other, dark channels. Manufacturers, inventors and innovators are cheated out of their rightful earnings. This is theft.
But it goes much further. Product piracy can destroy entire companies. Counterfeit goods are often hazardous to health and – especially in the field of technical textiles – represent a real safety risk.
That’s why it’s vital to think about product protection measures right from the start. But how can wearables or technical fibers be protected sustainably and cost-effectively? Visible markings such as labels, sewn-in special threads, embroidery, special processing, etc. are directly imitated by product pirates.
And here comes the good news: The Tailor-Safe® product protection system also offers effective plagiarism protection for textiles, yarns and fibers. It marks indestructibly and covertly, without affecting the feel or design of the end product. The marking can be easily integrated into existing production processes and can be used in court.
Different processes are used depending on the level of security required. The most complex is to integrate Tailor-Safe® into the finishing process. In this process, the product protection is applied to the entire surface of the fibers. Entire fabric webs are produced with the plagiarism protection in this process. This process is ideal for technical fabrics, safety fibers and industrial textiles. The authenticity marking becomes an inseparable product property which, due to its robustness, proves the originality of a component even after decades.
The advantage is that no further processing step is required. For quality assurance, continuous checks are taken and documented with a specially adapted inline spectrometer. If the worst comes to the worst, unjustified recourse claims can be securely warded off thanks to the equipment with Tailor-Safe®.
Supply chains can also be easily safeguarded: Partner companies and processing plants are required to check the authenticity of goods deliveries upon receipt. This is done with the aid of low-cost handheld spectrometers. If desired, this verification data can be transmitted to a central server via the web. When the authenticity of the goods cannot be verified, it is an attempt at counterfeiting, which can be actively investigated with the support of the authorities.
If excess quantities appear on the market, authorities or product scouts can also carry out authenticity checks using handheld spectrometers.
For wearables such as trendy sportswear, high-end designer fashion or safety clothing, partial marking is a good option. The Tailor-Safe® product protection solution can be easily implemented in yarns and threads made of synthetic fibers or cellulose. Depending on the desired degree of robustness and the required level of authentication, the plagiarism protection solution is either incorporated on or directly into the fiber.
In the case of so-called wearables, the marking is carried out in partial areas:
- For example, the security yarn is used only for a specific seam.
- Marked embroidery thread is used, for example, to apply a logo / partial area of a logo.
- The label contains an invisible marking with a special signet.
The advantages are obvious: in addition to the unmistakable, visible authenticity features – which fans and connoisseurs appreciate – licensed dealers, for example, are given a reliable way of establishing originality beyond doubt, e.g. as soon as the goods are received. This opens up completely new opportunities for manufacturers of branded goods to strengthen and deepen dealer and customer ties: From high-quality certificates of authenticity and clubs for exclusive customers to their own app, which end customers can use to check the authenticity of a product with their cell phone as they pass by. There are no limits to the imagination here. Particularly in the area of wearables and fashion, marking with Tailor-Safe® goes far beyond pure product protection and supports the entire market presence.
Partial marking has the advantage that only very small quantities of raw material are required. It is extremely robust and resilient and can be processed by machine. Since, thanks to Tailor-Safe®, product authenticity can still be reliably verified even after a fire, for example, partial marking can be considered for all technical, safety-relevant products, such as airbags, in addition to applications in wearables. Thanks to marking, the authenticity of a component can be proven beyond doubt even after a worst-case scenario and, above all, can be used in court. Tailor-Safe® costs only a fraction of what would have to be paid in compensation claims in the event of damage.
Further information on plagiarism protection with Tailor-Safe® can be found on the website.
