The humble and familiar barcode — a staple on consumer packaging for nearly 50 years — will soon be replaced with a more robust and muscular successor that offers far more information about the product inside.
- The new "2D" barcodes will unlock reams of online extras (for consumers) and revolutionize inventory management (for retailers).
- Scanning them may tell us the field where something was grown, the factory where a garment was sewn, the sustainability practices of the company that made it — or the washing instructions.
