News In Brief

De La Rue Partners with C3i Europe

De La Rue has announced a partnership with C3i Europe Ltd, the intelligence-driven company engaged in combating global grey market activities.

C3i Europe has established a presence in the field of brand protection enforcement, serving a diverse array of brands, including consumer electronics, toys, professional broadcast equipment, luxury fashion, sports goods, pharmaceuticals, computing, multi-brand manufacturers, global certification, and ‘final mile’ logistics companies. Its operations span the UK, Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific region.

Promoting De La Rue’s brand protection solutions – PURE™, IZON®, and Traceology® – is the focus of C3i Europe. This will enable brands to combine physical and digital security solutions with enforcement, to provide a comprehensive brand protection strategy.

As Jim Mathieson, the founder and CEO of C3i Europe, puts it, ‘a partnership between De La Rue and C3i makes a lot of sense. Brands, commercial organisations, and IP lawyers are increasingly seeking effective end-to-end solutions for brand protection and this combined offering will deliver tangible positive impact for brands globally’.

Extra Security Layer for ‘Diamond Passports’

Belgian traceability firm iTraceiT has entered into a partnership with the Cutwise Group to integrate digital reports generated from photoreal rendered images of polished diamonds into iTraceiT’s QR code and blockchain solution.

The digital reports are produced by Cutwise’s DiLog ID service module, which uses a Helium Polish diamond scanner to produce unprecedentedly accurate reports that detail precise measurements of the scanned stones. The cost of a basic report is as low as €0.15 per stone scanned, putting the solution within reach of market segments that would not otherwise have considered using diamond scans in their workflow.

iTraceiT’s CEO, Fredrik Degryse, said: ‘with Cutwise DiLog, our clients can choose to add yet another layer of security to each diamond. Our app is based on secure blockchain digital technology without requiring or inscribing any proprietary physical markings on the stones. Therefore, when a customer adds the DiLog ID to a diamond registered by iTraceiT’s app, it offers an additional layer of security. The diamond cannot be swapped with any other stone since the data provided by iTraciT’s app, together with the stone’s grading report, and the DiLog ID cannot be matched to another diamond’.

Traceability for Global Cotton Production

Better Cotton, which describes itself as the world’s leading sustainability initiative for cotton – representing more than one fifth of global cotton production – has launched its highly awaited €25 million traceability solution.

Developed over the last three years, the solution will enable fashion and textile companies to promote their products as ‘containing Better Cotton’. It will provide visibility of the cotton’s journey through the supply chain – from the ginning stage right through to the retailer or brand owner – by logging stakeholder input on the Better Cotton Platform, operated by the software company ChainPoint.

The organisation has worked closely with a network of member retailers and brands, including H&M Group, Marks & Spencer, Walmart, Target, Bestseller, Gap Inc and C&A, to ensure that fashion companies can accurately trace and disclose the origin of raw materials, and comply with emerging regulations.

Better Cotton refers to cotton grown according to the minimum production criteria of the Better Cotton standard, but does not refer to a specific cotton quality. There is, therefore, no difference between the physical properties of Better Cotton and conventional cotton from the same origin. The difference comes from the sustainable farming practices used to produce Better Cotton and, up to now, 2.4 million cotton farmers worldwide have been trained in these practices and are licensed to grow Better Cotton.

Entrupy Becomes Official AI Authenticator on TikTok Shop

Following the launch of the TikTok Shop in the US, Entrupy, an AI-powered luxury authenticator, has partnered with the social media giant as an official authentication provider of pre-owned luxury handbags on the platform.

Founded in 2012, Entrupy’s aim is to protect businesses, consumers and borders against counterfeit goods by guaranteeing the authenticity of products through microscopy and imagery.

The solution converts the microscopic surface features of an item into a digital fingerprint, which is stored on a database for future matching against products in need of verification, using artificial intelligence to determine if a product is genuine or requires further investigation.

It works by means of a patented Entrupy device resembling a smartphone which is equipped with a pre-installed app. The user, once connected to wifi and logged in, is invited to select from a brand and material menu, then guided by the app to take a series of specific, highly magnified images of different aspects of the item.

The images are submitted to a server along with other information such as date codes and SKUs, and Entrupy’s enhanced computer vision and machine learning system scans a database of 25 million unique images of luxury items, their logos, hardware, leather, and authentication cards, in order to evaluate the authenticity of the item under inspection.

Entrupy supports 22 of the top luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Chanel, and Dior. There is a set-up fee of $500 and users can choose between a monthly or annual subscription based on different tiers.

Canadian Mint Partners with aXedras

The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) has announced a partnership with aXedras, a developer of digital solutions for supply chains of precious metals that support proof of provenance, product integrity and traceability within the precious metal industry.

The partnership comes after the successful completion of a global pilot under the Gold Bar Integrity Programme co-initiated and led by the London Bullion Market Association and the World Gold Council.

RCM says it will leverage aXedras’ Bullion Integrity Ledger™ solution to realise its goal to be best-in-class for supply chain and partner management. This collaboration will help to provide an additional layer of assurance and transparency in its refinery’s operations, it said, reinforcing its position as a leading player in the precious metal industry.

aXedras’s blockchain-based solution captures and preserves data along the gold supply chain, ensuring the provenance and integrity of refined gold products, thereby providing downstream customers and investors with both traceability and transparency.