3D printed smart labels borrow Bitcoin's approach to help brands prevent counterfeiting

One of the biggest issues in the fashion industry is how to prevent designs from being copied and how to keep them exclusive. Kanye West is worried that evolving technology will damage the textile and fashion industries, just as downloading MP3s has damaged the music industry. Well, while we don't have to solve these problems yet, it seems that 3D printing technology can help designers authenticate their products. For example, Greats, a sneaker company from Brooklyn, New York, has begun using 3D printed smart tags that can track brand-name sneakers back to the factory, effectively proving their authenticity.

The 3D printed smart tag was developed in collaboration between Chronicled, a shoe and fashion software authentication company, and Origin, a San Francisco-based 3D printing company, and was designed for Greats’ new Beast Mode 2.0 Royale Chukkah sneaker, which was released in late 2015 and is endorsed by NFL player Marshawn Lynch. The 3D printed smart tag is intended to combat counterfeiting, an illegal industry valued at an estimated $240 billion.

What's interesting about these new shoe tags, and what sets them apart from other anti-counterfeiting techniques like intricate precision stitching, is that they were inspired by cryptocurrency, Bitcoin to be exact. The digital currency, invented by Satoshi Nakomoto, uses a digital technology called blockchain as an anti-counterfeiting measure, which is essentially an encrypted database that links every Bitcoin transaction to the one before it. With the ability to track transactions and every person who trades Bitcoin, the currency can be easily proven to be authentic or fake.

Taking inspiration from the Bitcoin blockchain system, Chronicled's developers realized they could apply a similar system to their sneakers, making it easy to prove their authenticity, no matter how well the fakes are made. So, how do the smart tags work? Each tag has an inscribed identification code that corresponds to a specific pair of shoes. In fact, the tag has an encrypted NFC chip embedded in it (the same chip currently placed in passports), which can be easily scanned and tracked via a smartphone. What's more, the NFC chip is embedded in the tag through a 3D printing process, which means that the chip cannot be removed without destroying the entire tag.

When you scan the 3D printed smart tag with your phone, it will read a special blockchain and then tell you not only if the shoe you picked up is authentic, but also its previous owner. If you decide to sell the shoes, the sales process is similar to Bitcoin, and you only need to transfer the ownership of the tag through the Chronicled app.

While the technology has so far been focused on the designer sneaker market, it has the potential to expand into other fashion industries due to the versatility of 3D printing technology. As Chris Prucha, CEO of Origin, said in a press release, "3D printed Chronicled tags are the first product that can be adapted to completely different markets in a matter of minutes, allowing us to match the look and feel of our products to brands, retailers and consumer tastes in different luxury markets at no additional cost."

In addition to Greats’ Beastmode sneakers, high-end fashion brand Dynes has also expressed interest in incorporating the technology into their designs. According to Chronicled, the company is also trying to break into the vintage sneaker market by offering sellers the opportunity to authenticate and tag their shoes before selling them.