MILAN (Reuters) – Italian fashion group OTB has joined a consortium formed by luxury goods heavyweights LVMH, Prada and Richemont-owned Cartier that uses blockchain technology to trace the origin of high-end products to fight counterfeiting.

The platform, dubbed Aura, will allow consumers to follow a product life cycle by accessing a sort of digital database storing information in a way that it cannot be changed, tampered with or hacked.

The initiative, launched in April and a rare case of collaboration between rival brands, is aimed at improving transparency about where and how luxury goods are made, and also provide owners with certificates of authenticity.

OTB – which stands for Only The Brave – owns brands including Diesel, Maison Margiela, Marni and Viktor&Rolf and acquired Jil Sander in March.

(Reporting by Silvia Aloisi; Editing by Mark Potter)