FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2004
MYSTERY CLOTHING COMPANY PLANS ITEM-LEVEL
RFID ROLLOUT
CASPIAN obtains photos of prototype clothing
tags
An unnamed national company plans to tag all of its clothing items with radio
frequency identification (RFID) tracking devices in 2005, according to Checkpoint
representatives at last week's Frontline Expo 2004 trade show in Chicago.
Checkpoint is the leader in electronic theft prevention tags and has recently
begun encouraging its clients to incorporate RFID in their tagging
programs.
Could the mystery brand be Calvin Klein, Champion, or Abercrombie & Fitch?
Representatives from Checkpoint wouldn't say, but based on what we saw, any
one of these companies could be toying with the idea. CASPIAN (Consumers
Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering) obtained clear shots
of prototype RFID clothing tags bearing these companies' logos.
[Click here for detailed
RFID tag and label photos]
[Click here for detailed
RFID tag and label photos]
"While Checkpoint didn't reveal the company name, representatives did refer
to the company as a ‘well-known national retailer.' That was one clue,"
said Katherine Albrecht, Founder and Director of CASPIAN. Another clue could
be the two prototype dark blue hang tags that "screamed for attention," according
to Albrecht.
Albrecht revealed photos that show how Checkpoint attempted to obscure the
company brand name on two blue hang tags at their display. Checkpoint
representatives reported that the tags contained EPC-compliant RFID chips.
"The manner in which Checkpoint concealed the name leads us to question whether
the tape was there to hide the brand name or create drama around the tags,"
says Albrecht. "Researchers at CASPIAN are pretty good at sniffing out the
industry's dirty little secrets, but this was pretty much handed to us on
a silver platter. Checkpoint failed to cover over the Abercrombie & Fitch
collegiate logo at the end of the tags."
Additional evidence suggesting that Abercrombie & Fitch could be the
mystery company comes from a May 18, 2004 Women's Wear Daily article titled
"
Abercrombie
to Give RFID a Try." The article cited statements made by an Abercrombie
& Fitch executive at a retail conference earlier this year where he described
a new store format that "would be the first in the [Abercrombie & Fitch]
group to use RFID at the item level."
CASPIAN's Albrecht characterizes any plans by Abercrombie & Fitch to
roll out item-level RFID tagging as ill-advised. "They're still reeling from
boycotts over their marketing practices. It would be a PR disaster for them
to further antagonize the public."
Ongoing boycotts of the company were launched by Christian and family oriented
organizations, including Focus on the Family, in response to Abercrombie
& Fitch's sexually explicit marketing materials. These materials have
glorified teen nudity and group sex.
Albrecht offers this parting advice to companies like Abercrombie & Fitch,
Calvin Klein, Champion and any other companies considering item-level RFID
tagging: "Don't do it. Study what happened to Benetton before taking advice
from RFID proponents like Checkpoint. It can be hard to win back customer
trust once you've crossed the RFID line."
Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN) is
a grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes since 1999.
With thousands of members in all 50 U.S. states and over 30 countries worldwide,
CASPIAN seeks to educate consumers about marketing strategies that invade
their privacy and to encourage privacy-conscious shopping habits across the
retail spectrum.
For more information, see:
http://www.spychips.com and
http://www.nocards.org
