RFID-Enabled Traceability, Anti-Counterfeiting and Sustainability in Apparel and Product-Based Supply Chains: A Scoping Review

RFID is usually used for product recognition, object-level tracking, inventory visibility, logistics monitoring, authentication, and automated data capture for various supply chain industries. RFID can enable traceability, authentication (anti-counterfeiting), order allocation, inventory control, warehouse efficiency, logistics monitoring, safety management and sustainability information in apparel, fashion, and product-based supply chains. The current evidence, however, is quite diverse, ranging from fashion supply chains and manufacturing analytics to inventory systems, logistics, asset tracking, environmental monitoring, worker safety, privacy, cyber and other aspects of digital transformation. The purpose of the scoping review is to chart evidence on RFID deployment in apparel, fashion, textile, and transferable product contexts, focusing on traceability, anti-counterfeiting, product visibility, and implementation conditions in apparel, fashion, and textile supply chains, as well as in sustainability contexts. The review process followed scoping review guidance and its protocol. Evidence was found in the following formats: EndNote XML/export records, Covidence screening (title/abstract), Covidence screening outputs (included study exports), and uploaded full-text PDFs. Documents were classified by source type, study design, context, technology focus, purpose, key findings, relevance to sustainability, limitations, and role in the synthesis. The results show that RFID evidence is strongest in product identification, item-level visibility, secure inventory search, manufacturing data capture, logistics tracking, asset traceability, and operational efficiency.