Mastercard to use blockchain technology to stop fashion fakes

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On August 2, Mastercard announced that they would be launching a new demo that would help fashion designers to be able to protect their brand. The blockchain-based platform will be introduced during an upcoming event showcasing women’s fashion designers.

One of the biggest concerns for high-end fashion designers is a low-cost knockoff. These knockoffs diminish the value of the originals, because some customers may not know the difference between the two, thus purchasing the fake item, diminishing the prestige of the brand.

To assist in stopping this kind of fraud, Mastercard announced that they have created a package that will help track and support “limited addition collaborations” with these female designers and artists, as well as with Fred Segal Sunset and MADE brands.

According to the press release, Mastercard explained that they are helping to bring together “artists with a similar vision together to create unique lines of clothing. The first collection from the partnership features a demonstration of Mastercard’s blockchain-based Provenance solution, which offers visibility into product journeys.”

In the press release, Mastercard explained that according to a Global Brand Counterfeiting Report submitted last year, losses due to counterfeiting totaled over $323 billion in 2017, with luxury brand designers incurring over $30 billion in losses on the Internet due to these knockoffs.

In response, Mastercard has created a platform that will help to properly track and record all products, not only allowing the companies to be able to monitor the supply chain process, but also giving customers confidence that the products they are purchasing are authentic.

In a statement, Sherri Haymond, executive vice president of digital partnerships for Mastercard, explained “We are thrilled to work closely with MADE and Fred Segal on this shared mission to unite female creatives through projects like these that sit at the intersection of art, fashion, and technology. Leveraging innovative technology solutions, we are able to tell the stories of the products consumers are buying.”

Designers looking for technology to assist them in the supply chain is becoming a growing fad. Late last week, Brazilian designer Alinha Institute announced that they would be using blockchain technology to not only ensure the authenticity of their products but also to assure customers that none of their products were manufactured in workshops where employees were treated much like slaves.

The use of blockchain technology allows designers and manufacturers to be able to monitor the location of their products from creation all the way through the sale. The technology allows this even if warehouses, stores, and other players in the supply chain are not using the same systems like that of the designer. By being able to integrate several different networks into one location for businesses to enter data, it helps to provide greater efficiency with a high degree of security.