UHF RFID E-Thread™ Enables Improved Product Lifecycle Management!
In 2013, the French Grenoble-based company Primo1D developed the UHF RFID E-Thread™ tag – an RFID tag in the form of a yarn. The special design allows the tag to be integrated directly into textiles. In 2022, Primo1D began mass production. Emmanuel Arène, Co-founder, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Primo1D, explains in an interview how the E-Thread™ supports circular economy in the textile industry.
07 Mar 2024 - E-YARN S
Trends for Increased Sustainability in the Apparel Industry
Mr. Arène, what are the current trends in the textile industry regarding RFID and sustainability?
Emmanuel Arène: There are currently three interrelated parameters changing in the textile industry. First, the industry is getting more strictly regulated in terms of sustainability, especially in Europe. Manufacturers are invited to use environmentally friendly production processes and increase recycling of end of life products.
Second, textile companies are looking for new solutions and business models that go beyond inventory management and logistics. Second-hand stores, rental concepts, product return management and recycling are business models that are necessary for reducing the industry's carbon footprint.
Third, customer behaviors are rapidly changing. They ask for sustainable products and more transparency. Manufacturers and brands must provide customers with additional information about the origin and production process of products.
Product Traceability Throughout the Life Cycle with E-Thread™
How does the E-Thread™ support these changes?
Emmanuel Arène: For optimized product lifecycle management and and efficient deployement of new business models, product traceability over the entire life of a product is necessary. RFID technology is suitable for such an application. However, a particularly robust tag is required. It must be able to withstand the entire service life of a product, including washing cycles and wear and tear. Furthermore, the tag must not impair the product visually or functionally.
02 Oct 2023 - Primo1D Corporate Actions Towards Sustainability
The UHF RFID E-Thread™ tag is ideal for these applications. The tag is wrapped in a textile yarn in a unique form factor.. The tag is integrated into products as a yarn or as a textile strip directly during the garment manufacturing process. A simple integration technique enables a high process speed.
Lifecycle Management with the UHF RFID E-Thread™.
What other benefits does RFID and the E-Thread™ tag offer for textile lifecycle management?
Emmanuel Arène: One advantage is that the E-Thread™ tag can be used both in clothing retail and for workwear. The latter is washed industrially, so a particularly robust RFID tag is needed. The E-Thread™ tag is designed to last the lifetime of the product.
At the end of their life, products can be identified by the RFID tag and therefore efficiently sorted and recycled. According to the French eco-organization Refashion, 244 KT of textile were collected in 2021 by certified collectors. This represents 34% of the 715 KT of textile sold the same year in France and only 78% of the collected articles are being sorted, the goal being 98%. With RFID, these items can be accurately tracked.
Furthermore, the recycling process itself is complex. A specific recycling process is needed for each type of textile. In this case, the identification number of an RFID tag in conjunction with a cloud database provides the information about which garments go into recycling and what material it is made of.
As a conclusion, durable embedded RFID is one of the key pillars to support circular economy and deployment of more sustainable business models in the textile industry.
