These New RFID Tags Could Help Luxury Clothing Brands Guard Against Theft

Louis Vuitton  bags, Gucci  shoes, Burberry coats—you name it, it’s been the target of theft. Luxury houses are especially prone to having their items stolen and sold on the black market because luxury items have become synonymous with status. Retail theft in general costs the industry nearly $32 billion a year. But a new, undetectable radio frequency identification (RFID) tag could change things. A U.K.-based company, Advanced E-Textiles, is making thread-sized microelectronic RFID tags. The tag—basically a washable, wound-up electronic barcode in thread form that can be read by radio waves—would be sewn into the garment by the manufacturer.