Lawrence, MA (August 29, 2023) –Gemline, a leading promotional products supplier, today announced a groundbreaking partnership with the award-winning Aware™, a global textile traceability solution for the fashion and textile industry. Aware™ is the world’s first hybrid (physical tracer + public blockchain) traceability technology. It works like a virtual passport to authenticate sustainable material throughout the production process—from textile to consumer, to guarantee that the products are truly made from sustainable materials. For more info, please visit https://wearaware.co/.

Aware™ is being introduced in the United States by Gemline through its newly redesigned MiiR® Olympus Collection which includes six modern bag styles, ranging from backpacks to messenger bags, sling bags and organizers, all built with recycled materials containing AWARE™ textile transparency technology. By scanning the QR code on the product hangtag, the consumer can see the entire journey of the sustainable materials. To view the new MiiR Olympus Collection, click here.

“Gemline places a strong emphasis on substantiating the claims we make regarding the sustainability of our products," said Frank Carpenito, President & CEO of Gemline, "The utilization of Aware™️'s state-of-the-art technology represents a groundbreaking advancement in enhancing textile transparency within our supply chain and sets a new precedent in the United States and Promotional Products Industry," Carpenito stated. "We take immense pride in being pioneers to introduce this breakthrough technology to the market and living up to our Betterway™ corporate social responsibility promise to create a positive and meaningful impact on both people and the planet through our products. This technology is truly revolutionary, and will allow our distributor partners to be leaders with their clients."

Koen Warmerdam, co-founder and brand director, "Our partnership with Gemline, a company that has sustainability at its core, as Aware™, is something we are thrilled about. Consumers want to understand where their products come from, but it does not stop there. They want total transparency. And that's what we can give them with our technology. The whole supply chain becomes transparent, and the information is super reliable because we get the info from the primary source." 

About Gemline

Founded in 1958, Gemline is an award-winning, design-centric supplier providing high-quality branded products to the promotional products industry. Gemline is ranked as the 12th largest industry supplier and 5th largest hard goods supplier by the Advertising Specialty Institute. The Company’s product line consists of a wide range of gourmet food and lifestyle gifts, electronics, bags, coolers, drinkware, stationery, and writing instruments. In addition to its strong portfolio of house brands and Gemline-branded products, the Company offers high-quality retail brands such as American Tourister®, Anker, Be Home®, CORKCICLE®, Courant, Cuisinart®, Cuisinart® Outdoor Grilling, govino®, Igloo®, Moleskine®, MiiR®, Modern Sprout®, New Balance®, Osprey®, Out of the Ocean®, Out of the Woods®, Paper Mate®, Parker®, Samsonite®, Sharpie®, Slowtide, VSSL®, Waterman® and W&P. Gemline is a registered trademark of The Gem Group, Inc. For more information about Gemline, visit the Company’s website at www.gemline.com or 1-800-800-3200. Find Gemline on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

About Aware™

Aware™ is a global textile traceability solution for the fashion and textile industry. Their world’s first game-changing technology revolutionizes the textile industry since they use primary data from end-to-end in the supply chain, which changes it from open to fraud, outdated and unreliable to transparent and trustworthy.

Their Digital Product Passport (DPP) relies on primary data, since all information is shared and validated by each maker in the supply chain. The materials get a physical tracer embedded into any type of raw material at the source. To ensure all information cannot be tampered with, the data transactions –its digital twin– ends up on a public blockchain, offering full transparency from fiber to consumer.

WIth their ‘phygital’ solution, the Dutch company enables brands, suppliers and consumers to make better and more conscious decisions, make greenwashing a thing of the past, and aims to restore consumers' trust in sustainability claims for textile. Aware™'s mission is to minimize the collective impact by maximizing traceability. The business was founded in 2020 by two Dutch sustainable fashion experts with 25+ and 10+ years of industry experience. 

About MiiR

MiiR is a premium lifestyle brand with a social and environmental mission. Independently owned and operated, they prioritize supporting people and stewarding the planet with their social and environmental mission. MiiR is a B Corporation, 1% For The Planet member, Certified Climate Neutral, and a Certified Evergreen company.

All MiiR products contain a unique Give Code™ found on the base of their MiiR product, allowing customers the power to connect with the company's transparent giving initiatives. As of 2023, MiiR has given over $4 million to 175 organizations working across 4 continents toward social and environmental change. Learn more at www.MiiR.com.