No, it’s not the latest lase cut stiff and tight design, it’s a pair of jeans with an tag embedded in it so that Levi’s can track their inventory. Levi’s, who has been testing a system in Mexico and the US, says they will not be tracking people – just jeans – but still, the concept has raised some privacy concerns. Mobile Mag says:
Conceivably, assuming that the people who buy the test-case Levi’s clothing do not have the RFID tags removed, someone with an RFID reader could track the movements of people based on what they are wearing.
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The privacy part seems a bit silly of a thing to worry about, since not only is the range of the RFID rather limited, but one would have to figure out to whom the RFID signatures belonged.
One kind of fun possibility would be the development of a cool public art piece (perhaps supported by Levi’s) that provided realtime and timelapse generated imagery based upon Levi’s RFID tags in a certain area — say Milleneum Park or Grand Central Station.
Brands could have a lot of fun with engagement campaigns this way – selling limited edition items that could be used in short run participatory events/exhibits.
May 5th, 2006 at 2:03 pm