Fast Fashion: How to end the waste and lack of control with Web3
Designers and consumers need to break the cycle of fast fashion. Develop incentives and encourage the purchase of high-quality items that last. How can this be done? Perhaps phygital assets can help.
A designer sketches a new clothing line with artistic flair and creativity. Countless hours of prototyping, fitting, sewing, cutting, and adjusting goes into the work. The final product walks down the runway with cameras flashing and expressions of delight from attendees.
Celebrities and influencers flaunt expensive designer clothing and attempt to persuade customers to buy. The mass population wants to immolate those same looks but needs help to afford them. Soon replicates of these designs become mass-produced with cheap fabric and labor from sweatshops. Companies wish to profit and find ways to create these knockoff designer clothes as cheaply as possible. People like the price but at what cost?
Designers stress over producing outrageous and trendy clothes, knowing they must quickly create the following design as soon as the latest sensation fades. The cycle continues - short-lived styles, social media hype from design influencers and celebrities, cheap knockoffs made and tossed in the landfill after a few wears. Repeat.
Welcome to the world of fast fashion.
We will do better. Add a little Web3 and see what happens.
Authenticate and Reward the Design
Each artistic design created has both the physical piece and the digital twin. The designer's name attached to the phygital asset protects and acknowledges this original work. Trace the origins of the designer outfit as it is purchased and sold through the years. Attach a royalty and create perpetual income as it changes ownership.
Production and Charitable Transparency
By purchasing a t-shirt with a corresponding donation to clean up the ocean, you can track the transaction and see the documentation that it happened.
Same with tracing the production and manufacturing process. Transparency can't hide devious and malicious practices. Without the need for third-party verification methods, it will save the company money.
Membership pass
With a digital collectible, you could use it to gain access to the activities associated with that brand. Unlock VIP experiences, discounts, and complete educational games to earn and incentivize behaviors.
Use the phygital asset to access the metaverse and online communities to show off what you own and provide valuable feedback. Showing off that t-shirt on the street, on social media, or in a virtual world goes beyond a fashionable look. It depicts the community you belong to and that you can be an active part of that brand.
Control your data
We will no longer need purely transactional, one-sided advertising that captures all our data. With phygital assets, we will market through community platforms and wallet addresses without the need for excess personal information.
Instead of Alex sharing her name, email, birthday, and location, she only needs to divulge ownership of a blue Puma t-shirt from an anonymous wallet address.
High value, high return
With the certification of ownership, designers receive the recognition they deserve. Phygital collectibles will discourage knockoffs and thus end the endless cycle of cheap products.
Create higher value, sustainable, and wearable fashion that lasts years. Our closets decluttered, and our morning routines become less stressful. Clothes become membership passes to our favorite brands' communities. We can give input and receive incentives for sharing our experiences.
Brands create longer-term relationships and provide products that customers desire.
Summary
We are quickly moving toward connecting brands with their community through digital collectibles. Less dress our avatars in the metaverse with outlandish outfits while we adorn ourselves with high-quality, classic designs.
Will this end fast fashion? Possibly. At this time, hopefully, it will make a significant impact. We can take this one shoe, shirt, and hat at a time.