Montebello, CA — In what is being hailed as the next generation of traceability and accountability in down insulation for bedding and garments, ALLIED Feather & Down announces the introduction of the first-ever Optix iMirror — an immersive retail experiential tool with the ability to read and verify down inside garments.
The Optix iMirror powered by NOBAL Technologies is the first interactive retail tool of its kind. An imbedded scanner can read an organic taggant signature impregnated on the down insulation inside each ALLIED filled garment to offer the consumer a unique educational experience.
This tool for retailers is now an Outdoor Retailer Innovation Award Winner, a coveted designation announced at the OR + Snow Show, on January 30, 2020. This award recognition comes on top of last year’s ISPO Gold Award for Allied’s unique TrackMyDown.com online traceability and education platform.
A life-size, real-time interaction with TrackMyDown.com is at the heart of this brand new consumer experience, elevating down from a misunderstood commodity to a premium ingredient that can be instantly traced back to its source to ensure animal welfare and the highest level of environmentally sensitive and performance-preserving handling and treatment.
The Optix iMirror is available to retail locations and ALLIED partner-brand flagship stores now. The iMirror was launched and piloted with the Beauty & Youth brand and featured in select stores throughout Japan in November 2019.
The iMirror will also be able to tie into a store or brand’s inventory and offer further product suggestions, colorways, and even allow purchases through the iMirror itself. This type of technology has been recognized as the future of multi-channel retail.
Consumers can have their garment scanned in real time in front of the Optix iMirror and interact to discover where their down comes from, what its performance characteristics are, how to care for it after purchase, and even see other styles of the product might be in stock (as well as how good they look).
“The industry and brands are doing a lot of work on issues of traceability, but often it is not conveyed directly to the consumer in an engaging experiential way. The RDS, for example, does nothing to communicate any information beyond the fact that it has been certified as responsibly sourced. This is where our TrackMyDown tool came in. The Optix iMirror, however, interacts directly with the jacket, reading a reflective finish on the down through the fabric, and will tell you everything you want to know about the down inside. It will be a critical tool for any brand as a consumer education tool as well as a device that can offer authentication and make material impossible to counterfeit,” said ALLIED Creative and Marketing Director Matthew Betcher.
“ALLIED has spent millions of dollars and countless hours ensuring our position as industry leaders in animal welfare and sustainable processing, and that includes an investment in retail technology and innovation for our brand partners, as well as consumer-facing traceability,” said Daniel Uretsky, President, ALLIED Feather & Down.
