mPedigree moves into textiles sector

mPedigree Network has started applying its SMS-based verification technology to protect products in the African textiles industry.

mPedigree - best known for brand protection projects in the pharmaceuticals sector - has started working with Premium African Textiles (PAT) to help fight piracy of its products, according to a report on myjoyonline.com.

Ghana-based PAT, which sells GTP, Vlisco and Woodin brand textiles, will apply mPedigree's Goldkeys labels to packs of its products bearing a unique identification code. Customers buying the textiles can scratch off the label cover to reveal the code, which is then verified by sending it via SMS to a dedicated number.

The Goldkey label - a transparent key embossed on a golden padlock - is on "tens of millions of products around the world," according to mPedigree.

"It is the surest sign to a consumer that the power is in their hands, to instantly validate the pedigree of the product, where it's been, and whether it really is what it claims to be, and to do so with nothing more complex than a feature mobile phone and a text message," it says.

Last year, the Ghanaian government estimated that around 40 per cent of textiles imported into the country are pirated and are having a profound impact on the domestic textiles industry, with some worker groups calling for a complete ban on imports.