Stone Island taps Certilogo for counterfeit protection

Italian sports and leisure wear brand Stone Island has started protecting its products using codes supplied by authentication specialist Certilogo.

Stone Island clothing will now carry labels (pictured) bearing a stitched QR code that can be scanned by the purchaser using a mobile - as well as a code that can be typed in manually on Certilogo's website - to verify the authenticity of the garment.

Certilogo also operates a system for online shoppers. Authorised Internet retailers carry a Certilogo button which - when activated - displays a code that can also be verified on its website.

The Stone Island brand is part of Bologna-based Sportswear Co (SPW) and was set up in the early 1980s by Italian designer Massimo Osti, and features a distinctive compass patch design.  It has become particularly popular with European football fans.

The brand has a longstanding issue with counterfeiting, with a number of seizures of fakes recorded in recent years including dozens of cases in the UK in recent years, and has said in the past that the illicit trade is a drain on its resources.

Until now, consumers have had to rely on a number of clues to determine whether their purchase is genuine, for example making sure buttons have the Stone Island logo etched into them, and that the items are made in Italy or Romania, the only countries where the company manufacture its goods.

Various clothing, accessories, cosmetics and beverage companies have adopted the Certilogo system include Chopard, Ciacci Piccolomini D'Aragona, Evaflor, Galliano, Mou, Versace and Versus, amongst others.