Swedish circular sportswear brand Houdini is setting a new standard for product circularity – digitizing its One Parka, launching in August. Houdini also is committing to digitizing and connecting all its garments to the cloud by 2023 as part of its pledge to transition its entire ecosystem to 100 percent circular by 2030.
Made possible by a new partnership between EON and YKK, Houdini’s digitized One Parka is the first product to feature YKK’s new Touchlink NFC zipper pull, and the first parka to be connected end-to- end by the EON Product Cloud.
Creating digital profiles for each of Houdini’s products so they can be connected, managed and stewarded across lifecycles via the EON Product Cloud unlocks capacities throughout the brand’s ecosystem.
Connected garments lower the threshold to circular business models such as resale, rental, subscription and recycling. It also enables Houdini to digitize and reinforce its relational business model, distancing further from the transactional customer relationships that have defined retail.
Turning the product into a communications channel, connected products open a direct and continuous connection between brand and customers. By simply touching their mobile phones to YKK’s NFC enabled zipper pull on their Houdini One Parka, customers will connect to Houdini and access curated use and care-guides, service and support as well as opportunities to explore and co-create circular ways of life.
Houdini’s initiative demonstrates the crucial role of connected products in solving fashion’s biggest barriers to circular business model transformation – creating a measurable platform for increases in customer lifetime value, and in revenue generated per item through digitization.
Houdini, EON, and YKK are committing to sharing the processes and toolkit with the apparel industry, in the hopes of encouraging more brands to digitize products and create scalable systems for circular commerce.
