DeFeet International, manufacturers of performance socks and accessories for the cycling, run and outdoor markets, is adding blockchain solutions to it’s suite of digital applications in 2018.
Working exclusively with LuxTag.io, based in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, DeFeet will be the world’s first apparel company to track products on a blockchain. Blockchain technology has been growing quickly in many industries, and DeFeet sees no reason to wait to implement it in apparel.
“Putting consumer goods, including high-quality apparel items, onto blockchains is not only an inevitability, it’s here right now,” said Paul Willerton, DeFeet VP of marketing. “What we see is a way to provide better engagement through basically one step by the consumer: scanning an item with their mobile device.”
That scan accomplishes several things: authentication (ensures the product is not counterfeit), warranty and repair (adds the unique item to the consumer’s personal asset profile) and loyalty (provides the ability to deliver more value to the customer for obtaining specific items).
LuxTag.io is an application built on the NEM blockchain. NEM uses the XEM token to power it’s blockchain. NEM is one the leading distributed blockchains currently used worldwide.
“The LuxTag team is executing on bringing this project to life, and NEM gives us confidence in having a proven, distributed blockchain working for us,” added Willerton.
“Protecting our brand, artists and products to ensure customers are getting what they pay for has always been important,” said DeFeet founder Shane Cooper, “and if we can do that economically, at scale and provide a better customer experience at the same time, the decision is easy.”
DeFeet plans to roll out LuxTag solutions on specific products lines initially, and grow from there. The first to receive blockchain asset status will be Barnstomer line products. Barnstormers.cc is the portal for the Adventure Cycling Club DeFeet introduced in 2017. Utilizing the blockchain to pair club members with in-line products can help provide a potent mix of loyalty and value add both immediaty and long term.
“DeFeet has never been afraid to make the first move with technology” said Cooper. “We’ve done it with fibers, knitting processes and now this.”
Willerton added, “If history is any indication, all eyes will be on DeFeet, and much larger companies will soon follow our footsteps.”
