Sustainable Style in the Metaverse: The Rise of Digital Fashion and NFTs
Written by: Selin Oguz
Editor: Sarah O’Rourke, Communications & Engagement Manager @ Threading Change
[10-minute read]
There is a good reason that the word “NFT” was chosen as the 2021 word of the year by Collins Dictionary. Even surpassing the likes of “cheugy” and “double-vaxxed”, the word saw an 11,000% increase in usage from the previous year.
It should be no surprise then that NFTs (non-fungible tokens) even made their impact in the fashion industry in 2021! They rose in popularity in tandem with digital fashion, giving way for what may become a brand new era in the world of style and creativity!
What do NFTS actually look like in practice though in the fashion industry? It can all be a bit mystifying. And honestly, nobody blames you...
What are NFTs?
When it comes to NFTs, we’d say that the best thing to tackle first is the term “non-fungible”.
Something that is not fungible is described as being irreplaceable by another item. That is, it is unique in nature and there can truly be only one original of it.
When applied to the concept of digital art, which is usually the case with NFTs, it helps to think of it this way: there can be a million prints of a Jean-Michel Basquiat piece, but there will only ever be one true original. When you buy an NFT, you’re buying the original of a digital art piece; you’re buying its ownership.
Your purchase is then recorded on the blockchain to prove your rights, so it’s legit.
NFTs can be songs, drawings, videos, items in video games, digital clothes, you name it!
But here is where fungibility gets a little murky: the artwork that is included with an NFT can be downloaded and shared by everyone on the internet. Sure, these people won’t be able to say that they own it, but they can in fact keep a copy of it on their phones, enjoying it in the same capacity as the person who may have paid up to, say, $69 million for the piece (true story).
The point of all this? NFTs are seen as a way to collect digital art and to support digital artists. Many also see them as a speculative investment, simply because the basic supply and demand model signals that low quantity (i.e. only one!) means a high price tag. With growing demand, the price tag is only expected to rise, and investors may hope to resell and earn a profit.
Most NFTs exist on the Ethereum blockchain. You can purchase NFTs using Ether, which is the native cryptocurrency of Ethereum.
The rise of NFTs has undoubtedly accelerated the rise of digital fashion. But the truth is, digital fashion walked so NFTs could run.
The Rise of Digital Fashion
In the most simple sense of the world, digital fashion has been around for quite some time, mostly in the world of video games. Players have been purchasing digital assets for way longer than they may come to realize, and the “skins” that exist in these games are already a huge market.
In fact, fashion in the world of video games has grown so much in popularity that fashion giants such as Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci have released special collections in partnership with the likes of Fortnite, League of Legends, and The Sims in recent years.
With the rise of NFTs and the metaverse, however, things are rapidly expanding beyond video games. Though NFTs have given fashion designers an economic incentive to experiment and sell ownership through digital means, the metaverse, in general, opens up the doors to digital fashion and digital asset creation in an even greater sense.
In the metaverse, in which we’re all to apparently have virtual social and intellectual lives sometime soon, we will have the option to express ourselves through our clothing in the same way we do in reality, or perhaps with even more of an ability to allow our creativity to take flight.
In fact, you can start building a digital wardrobe already by purchasing from companies such as DressX, The Fabricant, Auroboros, and Tribute Brand. All you have to do is purchase an item of digital clothing, upload an image of yourself onto the site, and your digital self will be wearing the piece for as long as you desire.
What do you think about NFTs and digital fashion?
The Good
Beyond the concept of an infinitely creative and profitable business around digital fashion, many slow and sustainable fashion advocates also see it as a beacon of hope in the journey towards a fossil-fuel-free fashion future.
You might already be familiar with the growing trend around purchasing items for the sake of content creation; purchasing items to pose in for Instagram posts or YouTube videos and then either returning them or letting them sit in the back of our closets for years on end, only to be donated at some point down the line.
The unsustainability of this all won’t come as a surprise to you, and digital fashion can help. Expressing ourselves through digital clothes can put an end to the “Buy-Instagram-Return” cycle, significantly reducing the amount of raw materials, manufacturing, labour, or shipping that goes into making a single item of clothing.
According to DressX, the production of a digital garment emits 97% less CO2 than the production of a “real” garment and uses absolutely no water (which can save up to 3300 litres of water per item).
Not only that, but digital fashion also cuts down on the time and resource waste that goes into designing and sampling a physical garment, getting people on the same page quicker without the need for physical prototypes.
Beyond sustainability, what we also really like about digital garments is that they can give us the power to be more daring and authentic in our clothing choices, outwardly expressing ourselves beyond the constraints of practicality, which is very exciting for fashion lovers everywhere!.
The Bad and the Ugly
Although it’s more or less a by-product of making a profit, the creation of digital assets in the metaverse definitely holds with it many unseized opportunities for sustainability.
But there are also growing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions in the field, specifically as they apply to NFTs and the blockchains upon which they are sold and traded.
Ethereum, the blockchain within which most NFTs exist, is built on an incredibly energy-intensive system. According to Digiconomist, Ethereum’s annualized total electrical footprint is comparable to that of the entirety of the Netherlands (110.95 TWh), and its annual carbon footprint is comparable to that of Sweden (52.7 Mt CO2).
To put it in simpler terms, making a single transaction in Ether, such as buying or selling an NFT, amounts to the power consumption of an average U.S. household over 8.82 days (260.97 kWh).
Of course, only a very small portion of digital garments are being sold in the form of NFTs on Ethereum (though do check out these MetaBirkin NFTs that are going for more than the physical bags) and the simple movement of digital clothing through the metaverse is indeed much more energy, water, and carbon-efficient than fast-fashion.
Perhaps the real question is whether people can forgo NFTs in the search for a green economy and instead focus on digital fashion to help solve the problems of the garment economy as we know it.
And perhaps it’s good to also consider the accessibility of digital fashion - whether the concept is merely entertaining the playground of the wealthy - and the fate of the millions of garment workers across the world as the demand for physical clothes potentially decreases.
How will we make sure they’re not left behind and out of jobs as we opt for virtual puffer jackets over real ones?
Let us know your thoughts below! And don’t forget to keep the conversation going on socials - find us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn!
About the Author
Selin is a Turkish-Canadian freelance writer currently based in London, UK. A recent graduate of the University of British Columbia, she is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers youth community and works with kids when she is away from her computer. On the weekends, you can find her curiously wandering around art galleries, reading books in the sun, or dancing to live sets of her favourite DJs.
