MILAN — As many other luxury design firms seek to enhance authenticity, traceability, incorporate certifications and meet European Union requirements, French family-run furniture firm Ligne Roset said it’s a step ahead.
On Tuesday, the manufacturer and distributor of contemporary furniture said it inked a partnership with post-purchase traceability and data firm Trust-Place and produced its first digital passport, in a joint statement.
The firm’s armless Togo loveseat is the first signature model to receive this identifier. The model was designed in 1973 by Michel Ducaroy, the firm’s legendary collaborator who rose to the fore in the ’60s for his experimental flair for shapes and working with new materials.
The digital passport is integrated with a unique product identifier (QR code) and ownership details, which render every Togo sofa verifiable through a dedicated mobile application. The digital passport is also expected to cultivate a relationship between the brand and its customers, providing a channel through which they can interact with the brand through experiences and events.
“Authenticity and transparency are at the heart of our development strategy,” said Ligne Roset chief executive officer Antoine Roset. “Thanks to digital certificates and this partnership with Trust-Place, we can guarantee our customers that every piece leaving our workshops is authentic, while creating a lasting connection with them.”
The firm was started in the 1860s, when the family’s patriarch Antoine Roset set up a small factory that made canes for parasols. He later bought property in Montagnieu, France, near Lyon, and after the turn of the century, when women abandoned parasols, he began making chairs.
Ligne Roset’s Togo sofa.
Courtesy of Ligne Roset
In October, two Italian luxury furniture makers — Poltrona Frau and Savio Firmino — joined the Aura Blockchain Consortium as associate members. They, like many other luxury players, work on enhancing authenticity, traceability, incorporating certifications and meeting requirements laid out by new European Union environmental regulations specific to the sector.
At the time, the Switzerland-based consortium said each firm would implement their own tailor-made digital product passports, or DPPs, in the near term.
Trust-Place, which is based in Marseille, France, was started by Gaelle Delore and Didier Mattalia in 2020 and works with luxury firms across the board, including fashion and electronic goods.
The European Commission’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, which dawned in July 2024, aims to make transparency and traceability a regulatory requirement for any luxury brand selling in the European market. Under such regulation, many products in the EU will be required to be accompanied by digital product passports by 2027.
