California Apparel News

Following the January announcement that it would invest in producing greener products, Amsterdam-based RFID-product and IoT-solutions provider Smartrac, while exhibiting at the17th edition of LogiMAT, unveiledits plan to add environmentally friendly tag options to its offerings.

Held Feb. 19–21 at Messe Stuttgart in Stuttgart, Germany, the LogiMAT trade show covers intralogistics solutions and process management.

Smartrac revealed that it is dedicated to bringing to market RFID products constructed to be less harmful to the environment. Each of its products that receives a Green Tag will include a published Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), according to ISO 14040/44.

“At LogiMAT 2019, we are presenting a broad range of our innovative capacity,” Patrick Eichstädt, vice president of sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said in a statement. “No matter if companies want to meet the challenges or leverage the opportunities of Industry 4.0 with improved efficiency or enhanced sustainability, Smartrac’s product and solution portfolios provide the right answers.”

The Green Tag Program announcement outlined criteria that must be met for a Smartrac product to receive a Green Tag label. In addition to being free of plastic—meaning substrates used must be recyclable or compostable paper—the products must use antennas that do not contain heavy metals. Chemical etching of aluminum antennas is not permitted to allow for complete recycling of aluminum residues. Printable antennas must only be printed directly on recyclable or compostable cardboard using Graphene ink.

“I am convinced that our Green Tag Program will fairly and squarely lead the RFID industry in terms of environmental sustainability,” Smartrac Chief Executive Officer Christian Uhl said in a statement. “We are doing this because it is important for all of us and our planet, as well as being in accordance with the wishes of our global customer base, who will soon be able to receive real, sustainable Green Tag products.”