Provenance on the Blockchain
PROVENANCE: PRODUCT HISTORY ON THE BLOCKCHAIN
Provenance can be defined as the history of ownership behind an item starting from the origin. Essentially, provenance provides documentation about an item like who has handled it, which helps verify the item’s authenticity. For NFTs, provenance is crucial as it enables the user to use the blockchain to track and trace digital goods ownership and informational changes. Authenticity and a source are provided by the documentation.
Selling items in the secondary market is often challenging as the main issue faced is authenticity. Provenance solves this problem by providing information all about the item’s origins and its previous owners. Provenance has the ability to increase resale value depending on who previously owned the item.
It allows purchasers to have a clear understanding of ownership, verifiable authenticity, and more information like the time the item was created. Provenance will affect prices on items with people wanting to purchase items coming from or owned by notable people.
WHO IS USING IT AND HOW
Transparency is one of the largest issues in the garment industry, many activism groups like Human Rights Watch are calling for greater transparency in companies supply chains. Blockchain in the fashion industry is increasingly used to not only increase intellectual property for designers but also for designers and companies to trace their materials. Companies like Adidas, H&M Group, Patagonia, and Gap all have been using provenance to be transparent about their supply chains. From raw material to finished garment both companies and consumers can learn all about a garment’s process from start to finish.
Companies are working towards greater transparency and visibility of workers and processes throughout their supply chains, their business relationships and publicly communicating the initiatives they are taking to ensure sustainability across their supply chains. In such a competitive luxury fashion sphere, blockchain’s main role has been to help bridge brands and retailers with each other who would not otherwise disclose information to their rivals.
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AUTHENTIQUE APP AND PROVENANCE
Authentique is an application that allows consumers to scan a luxury product and authenticate it against its digital fingerprint on the blockchain with digital recognition software instead of RFID or tags at registration. This application allows consumers purchasing a physical luxury product a digital twin (NFT) thus furthering the authenticity of the physical product. Authentique provides consumers provenance; allowing each item purchased to have a digital twin placed on the blockchain and verifiable on the application. These digital wearables not only provide provenance for the consumer but also ensures a safe authentic transaction in the resale market. With provenance, physical products that have a digital twin placed on the blockchain creates faster, more secure transactions allowing the buying and selling to be swift and trackable.
Many consumers in the luxury goods space want more ways to purchase their items without having a physical form of verification. Creating a digital twin with blockchain technology during the physical purchase of a luxury product allows more ease of mind at the point-of-purchase. With Authentique, the consumer can have both a digital and physical product unique to them with provenance. Learn more in our about section here.
Women using the visual recognition on the Authentique App
