Avery Dennison and ReCircled RFID Pilot Signals Breakthrough in Scalable Circular Fashion Systems
A pilot project by Avery Dennison and ReCircled has demonstrated that RFID-enabled circular systems can dramatically outperform traditional manual garment processing, pointing to a viable pathway for scaling circular fashion infrastructure.
Conducted in collaboration with two major apparel brands, the initiative embedded RFID tags into garments and leveraged the atma.io to capture, store, and exchange lifecycle data across products. The pilot compared manual identification and sorting with an automated RFID-driven workflow, revealing significant gains in both speed and accuracy.
Results showed that RFID implementation reduced scanning labour hours by 95.9% for one brand and 99.9% for another, while improving sorting accuracy to 99%, compared with 89% and 72% achieved through manual handling. The system also enabled the capture of critical product data such as Electronic Product Codes and material weights, supporting compliance reporting and downstream circularity processes.
According to ReCircled, the efficiency gains were strong enough to “more than offset” initial deployment costs, particularly when factoring in improved recovery value and reduced operational bottlenecks. CEO Scott Kuhlman noted that RFID is already “a proven and powerful solution,” enabling faster identification, reduced errors, and emerging use cases such as single-item duty drawback processing.
The pilot also underscores a key structural requirement for scaling circular fashion: the integration of digital product identifiers at the point of manufacture. Without early-stage adoption, downstream recycling, resale, and end-of-life systems remain constrained by fragmented or manual data capture.
ReCircled concluded that the trial demonstrates “a clear, data-backed path to a more efficient, profitable, and sustainable future for fashion,” highlighting RFID-enabled infrastructure as a critical enabler for next-generation circular supply chains.
