Chloé enables products to be traceable and resale-ready

French fashion house Chloé is introducing what it calls a “new chapter of transparency for luxury” by enabling its products to be fully traceable and resale-ready, an initiative that it adds is “a first in the industry”.

Dubbed the “Vertical” project, the innovative digital ID system features technology powered by EON, and allows users to scan the labels of Chloé products as part of its spring/summer 2023 collection with a smartphone to trace their item from field to the finished piece.

The digital ID will also include an ownership certificate, which will allow direct resale through pre-loved marketplace Vestiaire Collective, to streamline the resale process “enabling full circularity”. The technology also offers detailed product care and repair information to help consumers ensure their pieces have the longest lifespan possible.

“The initiative has three main purposes: to ensure authenticity, traceability and to facilitate care and repair,” explains Chloé in a statement. “Customers can learn more about the entire manufacturing process, find care and repair instructions, and also locate their product certificate of authenticity, complete with a unique ownership number.”

Chloé unveils ‘Vertical’ project to champion traceability in its collection

The first products to be part of the Vertical project include bags, shoes and ready-to-wear in linen, silk, wool and leather, adds Chloé. Consumers will see that all leather for Vertical items is sourced from French farms and the hides are then tanned by the French tannery Haas, which carries the ‘Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant’ (EPV) or ‘Living Heritage Company’ label and is part of the Leather Working Group.

Chloé notes the linen for the ready-to-wear is supplied by farming cooperative Terre de Lin from Normandy and it is grown using lower-impact farming processes. The linen is also spun and woven in France. While the silk used in the range is Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified, and the wool is sourced from Gabriela Hearst’s family ranch in Uruguay, before being spun and woven in Italy.

Riccardo Bellini, president and chief executive of Chloé, said in a statement: “The launch of Chloé Vertical is a testament to the meaningful progress that can be made towards developing a fully transparent and circular business model when there is collaboration across the industry. Following the commitments we took after joining the Sustainable Markets Initiative, founded in 2020 by His Majesty King Charles III when he was The Prince of Wales.

“I’m delighted to be enabling Chloé customers around the world the opportunity to make informed decisions about the transparency, traceability, and circularity of our products. I’m also pleased to be sharing the methodologies we have employed on this project via our Open Source initiative, which we hope will inspire a broad adoption of these principles throughout the industry, and I look forward to extending this innovative initiative further in the future.”

The use of digital ID will “play a key role in accelerating the business model transformations needed across the fashion industry,” adds Chloé, and it is aiming to roll out a Digital ID on all its products by 2025.

Chloé launches digital ID-integrated resale system with Vestiaire Collective

Chloé has also launched a year-long exclusive pilot project with Vestiaire Collective in the US, Europe and the UK as part of its strategy to develop a circular business model and extend the lifespan of its products.

The French fashion house has worked with Vestiaire Collective on a digital ID-integrated resale system, meaning that all Vertical products with digital IDs will have instant resale capabilities. This will offer a streamlined customer selling experience, as they will be able to sell their pre-owned Chloé items via a co-branded platform powered by Vestiaire Collective.

After landing on a dedicated Chloé x Vestiaire Collective pre-filled listing form, customers will confirm the condition of the item, upload product imagery, and receive an immediate price offer from Vestiaire Collective. Once the price of an item has been agreed upon, the product has been authenticated and controlled by the resale platform, customers will receive payment without having to wait for the sale.

Customers can choose from three exchange options, accept a voucher that can be redeemed at Chloé either online or in-store, a Vestiaire Collective voucher, which is a first for the platform, or alternatively, they will be offered the chance to make a charitable donation to UNICEF’s gender equality initiatives.