Living in a connected world just became more of a reality. Label giant Avery Dennison Retail Branding and Information Solutions and technology platform provider Evrythng have inked a deal that will enable at least 10 billion footwear and apparel items to be “born” with unique digital identities and data profiles in the cloud over the next three years. The companies believe the deal represents the largest number of IoT-connected products in a single collaborative effort.

RFID will play a key role in connecting 10 billion apparel goods to the Internet of Things.

Avery Dennison works with some of the world’s largest apparel brands, including Adidas and Nike. Adidas had connected shoes on display at the Smartrac booth at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show in New York earlier this year.

Among other things, the deal will enable consumers to verify product authenticity, interact with their products to unlock personalized digital content, services, offers and extras. Consumers who lose their car keys or running shoes will simply be able to Google them.

This is probably the biggest deal the [Internet of things] industry has had,” Niall Murphy, the CEO of Cisco and Samsung-backed Evrythng, told Fortune. “It’s a program we’ve been working on for quite a long time.”

With the smartphone becoming the remote control for the digital world, consumers expect to interact with brands through digital means. The introduction of the Janela™ Smart Products Platform, powered by Evrythng, enables the apparel and footwear industry to take this to a whole new level. By using Evrythng’s digital identity and data management capabilities, Avery Dennison can now enable its customers’ products to be digitized at the point of manufacturing.

“The fact that at least 10 billion Avery Dennison RBIS products will be digitized at the point of manufacture is both a milestone in making the Internet of Things mainstream and a huge enabler for the apparel and footwear industry in particular,” says Murphy.

Product History: Data about product materials, manufacturing and distribution can deliver total transparency to consumers about where the product came from and how it was made.

Loyalty Rewards: Consumers can interact with their products to unlock personalized digital content, services, offers and extras, or link to third-party apps for other rewards and benefits.

Product Reordering: Consumers can interact with products by using their digital identities and their smartphones to reorder products they like or access similar products that they may want to purchase.

Brand Protection: Brands can put stronger protection programs in place with item level digital authentication and real-time analytics, tackling the challenge of goods sold being counterfeit.

Loss Prevention: A product that carries data about where and when it was purchased cannot fraudulently be returned, helping retailers address fraud that costs the industry billions of dollars globally each year.1

Personalized Recommendations: Consumers can access unique personalized content on their smartphones like personal styling suggestions, new season tips, health and fitness content and event invitations, which are triggered by the product and based on past purchases.

Sustainability: Recycling becomes a lot easier for consumers and brands alike when a product can trigger specific information on what to do when it reaches its end-of-life, including how to upcycle for a second use or how to find the nearest recycling center.