Avery Dennison and ReCircled have completed a pilot project showing that RFID technology can automate garment data collection and sorting with up to 99 per cent accuracy. The objective of the pilot was to compare traditional manual garment processing methods with an automated system that assigns a unique digital identity to every garment.

The pilot project was conducted in collaboration with two major apparel brands. During the project, Avery Dennison embedded RFID tags into garments and used its atma.io platform to capture, store, manage, and share garment life cycle data.

According to the project findings, the RFID-based solution delivered major improvements in both efficiency and accuracy compared to manual garment sorting systems.

The results showed that RFID tagging reduced scanning labour hours by 95.9 per cent for one apparel brand and by 99.9 per cent for the second brand involved in the pilot. The study further found that the improved efficiency and higher sorting accuracy could more than compensate for the initial investment required to implement RFID-enabled garment processing systems.

The automated system was additionally able to collect important product information such as Electronic Product Codes and material weight data, helping support reporting, traceability, and compliance requirements.