H&M subsidiary Arket trials blockchain for product traceability

Arket, the in-house brand of clothing retail giant H&M, is testing blockchain technology for product traceability, The Next Web reported.

The trial is being conducted in collaboration with blockchain technology developer VeChain.

An Arket spokesperson confirmed the blockchain trial to Hard Fork via an email. The spokesperson said the trial aimed to leverage blockchain technology to trace product data in a secure manner.

“Arket has done a small Proof of Concept (POC) through a pilot testing with VeChain to use blockchain technology to secure product data traceability in the value chain,” the spokesperson told Hard Fork. “The test was made on a wool beanie from the autumn 2018 collection.”

TNW reported that speculations on the collaboration between Arket and VeChain started after some cryptocurrency enthusiasts shared videos on social networking sites that showed users trying out the blockchain implementation at Arket locations in London.

Arket further clarified that the test is ongoing and has not been evaluated.