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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
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