Featured image for Lumi ID Brings Packaging Details To Consumers, Including Sustainability Information

Lumi ID Brings Packaging Details To Consumers, Including Sustainability Information

by Rudy Sanchez on 03/27/2020 | 3 Minute Read

Want to cram a little more information about a product onto a piece of packaging but don't have space for it? Well, there's an ID for that.

Packaging platform Lumi has just released Lumi ID, providing brands a way to instantly answer consumer questions via AR technology. Lumi ID delivers accurate, up-to-date information about packaging specifications, certifications, and localized recycling options, which also streamlines operations by providing details to manufacturers and integrates with inventory management systems from vendors such as NetSuite and SAP.

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Lumi ID leverages QR codes, mobile technology, and various 3rd party data sources, such as Earth 911, to provide packaging details that can be easily updated. Brands can also include items such as their mission and values, as well as material descriptions and disposal instructions.

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You can integrate QR codes onto packaging in a multitude of ways, ensuring that Lumi ID’s integration doesn’t clash with a brand’s carefully designed visual identity. End of life disposal information is available for US consumers at launch, but Lumi has plans for integrating data for other countries in the future. When a material has several disposal options, Lumi ID ranks them by the most sustainable method, and when curbside service is unavailable for a piece of packaging, Lumi ID can provide the closest drop-off locations.

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Editorial photograph

“The information and end-of-life instructions found in Lumi ID are based on our ever-improving Sustainability Properties Framework, which goes beyond recycling,” said Stephan Ango, co-founder and chief product officer at Lumi. “We cover a wide range of factors for every packaging type, including compostability, reusability, recycled content, renewable materials, freight emission reductions, and far more. Our aim is to give every stakeholder in the lifecycle of the packaging a comprehensive understanding of its properties.”

“Over the past 18 months, we have noticed consumers pushing the brands they buy from to prioritize sustainability,” he added. “I truly believe that bottom-up change is possible and that consumers will increasingly vote with their wallets to push brands towards better choices. Lumi ID is about transparency, which empowers consumers to get informed and make specific requests that can ripple out into the supply chain, driving systemic change across manufacturing, distribution, and our recovery infrastructure.”

In addition to providing consumers with information about a package’s sustainability details, brands or businesses can utilize the same QR code to track inventory via ERP and WMS software, eliminating the need for additional barcodes or stickers.

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Editorial photograph

So, could this be the future of packaging? 

“We all are interacting with dozens of packaged products every single day, yet we have very little visibility about how and where that packaging was made, or its sustainability,” Stephan adds. “When that information is at all present, it’s limited, confusing, and inconsistent.”

“Think about your typical day,” Stephan added. “How many different pieces of packaging do you interact with? From your bottle of shampoo to the carton of eggs in your fridge, the canned beverage you had at lunch, or the cardboard box you received in the mail.”

“Lumi ID creates transparency and accountability around the packaging that companies make, so everyone can more rapidly shift towards a sustainable and circular economy.”

Lumi ID is available for Lumi members now, and you can find a demo at lumi.com/id.