The importance of QR Codes Retailers are including the blocky boxes in ads, on brochures and flyers, and even on their shop fronts, to allow people instant access to their websites, contact details, catalogues, special offers and much more. Chris Partridge explains
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arment makers are beginning to place codes on labels to give the customer instant access to the history of the item, its provenance, sustainability and all the other information that buyers like to know these days but that can’t all be squeezed onto a label smaller than the back of a bus. QR codes can even give information about the individual item, such as the date of manufacture, the specific materials used and so on. QR codes were relatively rare until the pandemic, when track and trace made them ubiquitous. Now everyone knows that to read one, all you need to do is point your smartphone’s camera at it and wait for the web link to appear. It is amazing how quickly everyone learns how to do it, when you can’t get into the pub until you can. In fashion QR codes new popularity has prompted many in the fashion industry to investigate uses. The R Collective in Hong Kong, for example, prints codes on the labels of its upcycled jeans which gives access to a website with information about the supply chain and tips on sustainable product care
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such as reduced-energy washing, restyling the jeans to prolong their life, and on recycling. Fashion brand Gabriella Hearst prints a QR code on labels to give consumers access to a garment’s journey, with the narrative of the design, the materials used, country of origin and production processes; it even includes the carbon footprint. Australian shopping website Klarna held a fashion show where the models didn’t wear the garments at all – they strode down the catwalk wearing dressing gowns and carrying boards with QR codes that linked to product online (all in the name of social distancing, of course.) QR codes are also being used in one of the fastest-growing areas of fashion, garment rental. Danish brand Ganni is collaborating with Levi’s to rent out iconic 501 jeans. The unique selling point is that the jeans get better with wear, with no two people ever renting any one pair of jeans. The code gives a history of the individual garment and emphasises its unique pedigree. It is surprisingly easy to generate and print QR codes using websites (see panl on right hand page) that take you through the process step by step. And most of them are free, which is a bonus. First of all, you choose the type of content that you want to appear when the code is read. You can include the URL of your website, a vCard
