
Piloting a new, 100% transparent direct-to-consumer brand
DSM-Niaga was able to bring their revolutionary product to market with a new, transparent consumer-facing brand.
Overview
DSM-Niaga is one of the world’s leading circularity innovators. They are on a mission to design out waste by redesigning our everyday products from scratch. It managed to produce a fully recyclable carpet made of 100% recycled PET, that consists of healthy materials only and is fully recyclable, again and again. After learning about Provenance at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, they have worked with us to launch an experimental consumer brand – Canary. The brand is differentiated through its openness and the trustworthy proof behind its claims – contributing towards a more circular economy.
Working with

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THE CHALLENGE
Launching a brand that matches the openness and honesty of the product itself
Carpets are a major contributor to landfill, making up 3.5% of all landfill in the USA (source: GAIA). Most carpet isn’t recycled because it is made from mixed materials that are costly to separate out. DSM-Niaga wanted to change this. They wanted to inspire the industry by changing carpet from a linear to a circular product. So, they designed a new type of carpet made from only one material, polyester, and created a new consumer-facing brand to launch it – Canary. The difficulty was this: in a market full of misleading quality and sustainability claims, how could they get consumers to trust an unknown brand?

THE SOLUTION
A platform to enable radical supply chain transparency with integrity
The Provenance platform gave DSM-Niaga the transparency framework and tools to bring Canary to market. It enabled them to track batches of the carpet on blockchain – from raw material to finished product. This proves there are no additional material inputs aside from fully-recyclable polyester. They also created a shopper facing experience – a product journey opening up each stage of the manufacturing process. This included proof of using only recycled polyester, openly evidenced with materials lab reports.

THE RESULT
A new brand, trusted from the start
Canary launched with digital and physical transparency at key customer touchpoints from the start. They are using Provenance to prove recyclability on e-commerce product pages and activate the product journey experience off the QR code on the product label. This has allowed them to promote their brand and product with claims that are supported by data. They have entered the industry as a challenger brand that is already building open, honest relationships with its customers. Unique in the industry, their radical transparency approach encourages everyone to question all aspects of their brand and product.
The benefits
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Brand Credibility
Canary is using Provenance to be radically transparent – and using blockchain and data to prove supply chain and impact integrity.
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Supply Chain Traceability
Provenance allowed Canary to track individual batches of carpet on blockchain. This gives their product full traceability from raw materials to end customer.
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Cost Savings
Outsourcing the website and label creation of a transparent brand to agencies is both costly and lacks credibility. Provenance enables radical transparency with a software service, reducing cost and giving an authentic experience.

Testimonials
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At DSM-Niaga, we believe it’s time to go beyond the ‘annual report company-level impact data’, and share the information we already know on a product level.
Kelly Hall
Managing Director, DSM-Niaga
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