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Blockchain and the Fashion
August 17, 2017 6 minute read
Industry
There’s no denying it, the fashion and retail world will become one with technology, the line between these two
industries is blurring and is reflected in trends such as chatbots, change in the Brick and Mortar structures,
virtual reali es, ar ficial intelligence, robots, 3D prin ng, Internet of Things (h ps://themarketmogul.com/iot‐
secure‐fridge‐kills/) and blockchain.
Block What?
A blockchain is a distributed database maintaining a constantly‐growing list of data records secured from
tampering and revision. The data are recorded in a blocks structure, with each block holding batches of
individual transac ons. Meaning the database is secure, open, auditable and what it makes it unique is that it
runs without a single centralized operator. The defining feature of a blockchain is that it cannot be modified by
any party, it is coded in a way that prevents fudging the data, whether that data is Bitcoin quan es or the
origin of a piece of clothing. That means informa on can be transmi ed through huge networks, such as supply
chains, and be added to by users on those networks without compromising security.
Conceived in 2008, it is mostly used in the banking sector for the moment, because the technology easily helps
to trace transac ons and it happens to be the main technical innova on of the bitcoin
(h ps://themarketmogul.com/bitcoin‐blows‐past‐4000‐market‐surges/). The idea was to create a decentralized
digital property that keeps track of who owns what. Today it is not Bitcoin, but blockchain that everyone is
buzzing about.
Blockchain is based on a simple idea, but built upon a complex technological framework. Its goal is to establish
trust, accountability and transparency while streamlining business processes. Blockchain relates to fashion in
different ways.
Intellectual Property
The most immediate and obvious use of blockchain in fashion is to verify the originality of a garment.
Microchips u lizing blockchain can tell a customer with complete certainty whether a piece of cloth is genuine
or an imita on, whether it was stolen, where it was made, and the item’s general history. All this informa on is
accessible via smartphone. With revenues around $600bn per year, counterfei ng hurts brands and consumers
alike.
Source: Faizod.com
History has shown that centralizing data into the hands of one single party doesn’t work for transparency:
having a single party able to control what is seen creates bias, even when it is a third party, and cannot be
totally disinterested whilst being incen vized enough to maintain the system, without being vulnerable to
bribery, social engineering or targeted hacking. Even without men oning if the party is the brand itself, or the
biggest actor in the supply chain, making a major conflict of interest. Blockchains will en rely change the game
for cer fying, tracking and tracing the origin of goods.
Customer Experience
It’s the dawn of a new era in fashion, in which customers interact with their clothes on a profound and
meaningful way. Blockchain therefore is storytelling and brands can do that fairly easily and merge it with Social
Media.
By looking beyond sustainability (h ps://themarketmogul.com/four‐methods‐guarantee‐sustainability/) to
produc on, and ge ng consumers to understand the layers of complexity involved in bringing a product to
market, the blockchain can help move the mentality away from throwing products into landfill and instead
apprecia ng the value of items. Over a third of garments purchased find their way into landfill sites or are
otherwise disposed of within just one year.
The Internet is the digital medium of informa on, and blockchain is the digital medium of value. We cannot
predict the future, but undoubtedly, blockchain is a technology that is worth ge ng to know, as it may very well
spark a revolu on across various industries. It is es mated that un l 2025 up to 70% of all global markets will
depend on blockchain, directly or indirectly. A huge poten al will be the of so called “Smart Contracts”, these
are automa cally executed agreements, with no human interven on. As one of the unfolding technologies,
blockchain is empowering fashion brands to take a lead towards greater transparency. By educa ng consumer’s
via the product journey, it is going to redefine the meaning of fashion by including elements like honesty and
real transparency.
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