The first pilot project for the use of blockchain in SMEs in the textile industry was officially presented at the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) on March 13. Blockchain technology will support Made in Italy project, protect its uniqueness and quality such as certifying the supply chain thanks to the mechanism of the "shared register" which enables attaining maximum security regarding counterfeit stabs.

Blockchain is a technology that enables you to make use of a distributed database in management of shareable transactions between manifold nodes of a network. Every block of the chain must track, monitor and authenticate the movements that concern it to make a network which guarantees the traceability of all transactions. The technology uses cryptographic tools, in order to ensure max security per individual transaction.

Objectives of the Project - The main goal of the aforementioned project which has been assigned to IBM, is mainly to ascertain all the benefits of distributed ledger technology (DLT) within the Made in Italy textile industry apropos: traceability of the goods along the supply chain; certification of origin to the customer; prevent counterfeiting; and ensuring the social and environmental sustainability of the productions.

This mega project is divided into two major phases: the first part deals with the feasibility study and gives an investigation and design thinking activity directed towards identifying particular cases for the analysis of manufacturing processes with the firms that use blockchain; and the second stage deals with the real experimentation and ends with a brief study of the feasibility situations for the sector chains being derived from the findings from the exploration phase.

Boosting Consumer Confidence via DLT - The promoters of the project intend that the pilot project should create a rudimentary model for various sectors of the Made in Italy project.

The traceability of the tanning & textile sector chain by the use of DLT will add something significant to protect the made in Italy goods.

“Contributes to increasing consumer confidence, creating conditions of transparency, guarantee for employment and environmental protection," said Andrea Cioffi, undersecretary for economic development.

"The traceability of this supply chain, through the use of Blockchain technology, can really contribute to protecting the Made in Italy product, certifying its effective implementation in Italy. This contributes to increasing consumer confidence, also creating conditions of transparency, guarantee for employment and environmental protection,” he added.

Recently, some Italian companies started applying blockchain technology in their production chain. For, instance in the manufacturing of Bufala Campana PDO plus mozzarella, as reported by Coinidol.

Courtesy: Coinidol