To date, the textile industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. To enable the sector to adopt an eco-responsible policy, many players in the sector are campaigning for the integration of blockchain at the heart of their activities. In the following, find out how this new technology will help make fashion more responsible.
According to the latest statistics, the textile industry emits approximately 2 million tonnes of CO2 per year. Added to this are the millions of liters of industrial water discharged directly into nature. Loaded with chemicals, these waters permanently pollute the environment. Fortunately, having become aware of the danger that their production represents, some brands have decided to rely on the blockchain to create their clothes.
The blockchain or in French “chain of blocks”, is an ultra-reliable technology which makes it possible to keep the digital traces of a transaction. It is also used to store and share data within a secure network using cryptography. To put it simply, it is a giant database, managed not by an administrator, but by independent validators.
And unlike a conventional database, the blockchain is not hosted on a single server, but on several servers. We are talking about decentralized architecture here since each user has a piece of it. In addition to financial transfer or contract execution, the blockchain is used to guarantee excellent product traceability.
With the blockchain, there are no regulatory bodies, no censors and no intermediaries. All transactions are made transparently and are validated through a neutral validation consensus. Unlike other traceability methods which can be falsified, the blockchain has the particularity of being inviolable.
In the fashion sector, the blockchain makes it possible to trace the course of a textile product. And with this technology, it is finally possible to discover all the actors who participated in the manufacture of a product, but also their different interactions.
Since the blockchain is inviolable, a fashion brand cannot claim that its products were made in France with organic cotton, when in reality, they come from China or Bangladesh… With this gigantic database, we will also be able to know what are the different materials that go into the manufacture of textile articles.
Today, consumers are particularly attracted to the idea of buying responsible clothing. Products that have been manufactured with the greatest respect for the environment, but also for workers, receive de facto public acclaim. With the blockchain, it is now possible to trace the origin of products with unparalleled efficiency.
Many initiatives led by the textile giants encourage all players in the sector to adopt more responsible production policies. A blockchain developed around the traceability of textile products will force major brands to review their sourcing strategies and production methods.
In the years to come, the latter will have the obligation to be more ecological, but also more responsible. The actors gathered around their own certified labels will be able, thanks to the blockchain, to provide their customers with proof of intangible transparency. Thus, the big brands will be able to gain credibility and visibility, but also obtain the approval of the public.
The blockchain applied to the fashion sector contains all the information of a product, from its design, through the manufacturing plant to its point of sale. Thanks to dedicated applications, consumers will only have to scan the QR code present on a garment to find out where it comes from.
He will take the opportunity to obtain information relating to all the stakeholders who participated in its manufacture. And how is this possible? It’s simple, when a customer asks “where was my shirt made”, the blockchain will send him to the internet where he can consult the data collected throughout the manufacturing process of his garment.