How garment codes work

A code turns one piece of clothing into a storefront that keeps selling for years. Here is the whole lifecycle, drawn out, including every point where a scan or a sale is tracked.

1. Mint the codes

   Pick a target: one garment, or the whole storefront. Mint anywhere from one to ten codes in a batch. A garment code deep links to that piece, a store code opens the catalogue, and either can carry a readable short link in front of it.

   Open the code generator

   One shared code, or one code per garment

   Shared code

   The same code on every unit of a style, or on the storefront itself. Anyone who scans can buy.

   one destination, no holder

   Unique codes

   A different code in every garment. The wearer claims theirs and earns the share you set on each sale it drives.

   one holder each

2. Print and stitch the tag

   Download one SVG per code, or a print sheet with the whole batch laid out for cutting. Set the print colours and quiet zone first so the code survives being woven or heat pressed into the seam below the label.

   Set the QR design

3. Activate at the point of sale

   A fresh code is dormant. It opens the garment page but credits nobody and cannot be claimed, so a code scanned in the fitting room is worthless. A clerk scans it at checkout to activate it, which means only a buyer ever ends up holding one.

   Open the point of sale

   Code states

   Dormant

   Opens the garment, credits nobody, cannot be claimed

   clerk scan

   Active

   Live and waiting for its first scan

   owner signs in

   Claimed

   Bound to one person, earning on every scan

   Disputed claim: the real wearer submits a photo of the garment and the code, you review it, and an upheld claim moves the code from one holder to the other. Credit written before the decision stays with the sale it belonged to.

4. The buyer claims it

   The first person to scan an active code is asked whether they own the garment or saw somebody else wearing it. An owner creates an account and the code becomes theirs. A passer by is sent to the garment and their visit is credited to whoever holds the code.

   See a code register

   What happens on a scan

   A phone opens the code

   Do you own this garment, or did you see someone wearing it?

   I own this garment

   Create an account and the code becomes yours. Every future scan of that piece earns you credit.

   Recorded: claim time, holder, and the code moves to claimed.

   I saw someone wearing it

   Straight to the garment page, ready to buy, with other pieces from the same store alongside.

   Recorded: an open on the code, attributed to the current holder for the session.

   The piece is no longer available

   The store's closest alternatives are shown instead of a dead end, and the referral still stands.

   Recorded: an open plus a substitution, so the code keeps earning.

   A dormant code shows the garment but attributes nothing, so a scan in the fitting room can never take credit.

5. Everything is recorded

   Each code carries its own record: how many times it was opened, which orders it produced, who holds it, and what it has earned. Nothing depends on a cookie surviving, because attribution is written against the code itself.

   Open a code record

   Where the tracking happens

   1. Activation scan

      Code, clerk, store, timestamp. The code flips from dormant to active.

      Shows up in: Point of sale, and the code's own register entry

   2. Code opened

      Open count, time, device entry point, target (garment or store), and the holder it is attributed to.

      Shows up in: Code detail page and the QR list

   3. Order placed

      Order value, items, and the code that carried the visit, so the sale is tied back to one person.

      Shows up in: Code detail transactions, store earnings

   4. Commission written

      Rule applied, amount, and status. Percentage of the sale or a fixed credit.

      Shows up in: Referral ledger and the holder's credit

   5. Approved

      Approval after the return window, which moves credit from pending to payable.

      Shows up in: Referral ledger

   6. Paid out

      Payout batch, method, and date.

      Shows up in: Payouts

6. Every sale writes credit

   When a scan turns into an order, commission is calculated from the garment override or the store default, as a percentage of the sale or a fixed amount. Credit lands in the holder's ledger and moves to payouts once approved.

   Open the referral ledger

   How the credit is calculated

   Sale amount

   Order total attributed to the code

   Rule resolver

   Garment override first, store default second

   Percentage or fixed

   Set per garment or across the store

   Credit to the holder

   Pending, then approved, then paid

   Garment level

   Give one piece a richer share, or none at all. The override always beats the store setting.

   Store level

   One default for the whole catalogue, applied to any garment without its own rule.

7. Disputes go through claims

   If a code was already claimed by somebody else, the real wearer can dispute it with a photo of the garment and the code. You review the evidence and either uphold or reject the claim, and ownership follows your decision.

   Review claims