The barcodes could also prove useful for conferences or other work-related gatherings with social components. Instead of trying to remember everyone's name and stats, you could just scan the back of someone's shirt before walking up and take a quick glance at his or her LinkedIn profile.

The Cost (and How to Avoid It)

W-41 charges $49 for its regular barcode-enabled shirts. If you don't want to shell out the cash, though, you can take its idea and make your own interactive fashion item.

A site called offers a simple self-generation tool for the ShotCode barcodes. You just type in the URL you want embedded and click a button, and you get a fully functioning barcode to do with as you please. From there, just use any of the Internet's many shirt-printing services -- or, heck, go buy an iron-on shirt kit for $5 -- and you can stamp the code on as many shirts as you want.

Final Thoughts