What Are Non Fungible Tokens and Why Will They Be Important in the Future of Fashion?

Posted by Giorgia Bettio on

 

Fashion and digital tokenization are two concepts that have become buzzwords in the tech space. With the rise of blockchain, decentralized networks, and Artificial Intelligence (AI), there is a growing recognition that these technologies will change how people interact with products.

Fashion will be one of the primary beneficiaries of the Internet of Things (IoT) connected world because it’s an industry where branded goods sell almost exclusively on their image and reputation. And NFTs will play a huge role.

 What are non-fungible tokens?

 

There are many different types of tokens in the blockchain space. Tokens can be fungible or non-fungible, storable or non-storable, and have a wide range of use cases. The most common type of token is a fungible token. Simply put, fungible tokens are interchangeable with one another. They are often used as a form of payment, like units of currency: one dollar is worth as much as the next, and you can’t see if there are any tears or stains on the bills. They are often used as a form of payment.

On the other hand, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are a special type of crypto token that is used to represent something other than a standard unit of measure.

In simpler terms, NFTs are digital assets that are unique like artwork or collectible; they cannot be substituted for another asset with the same value.

How will NFTs impact the fashion Industry?

One of the major benefits of blockchain technology is that it can be used to trace a product back to the source.

The ability to document the origin and journey of a product will be an important way to combat the black market of counterfeit items. In the fashion industry, counterfeiting is a $250 billion annual problem and it is growing year over year as technology becomes more accessible.

Unfortunately, tackling this issue will be very challenging because it is so easy to copy a product and make it look exactly like the original. If you wanted to buy a fake Gucci bag, all you would have to do is visit a site like Alibaba and type “Gucci” into the search bar, and you would have dozens of options to choose from.

Digital asset protection

With the rise of the internet and eCommerce, intellectual property has become a major concern in many industries. In fashion, brands have a unique challenge in that they need to protect their designs while also ensuring that consumers understand the value of their products.

It’s impossible for consumers to know if a product is real or counterfeit unless there is a way to recognize it. This is why brands use RFID tags, holograms, and even special designs to keep fakes off the market.

Unfortunately, this also means that the best way to determine if a product is fake is if it doesn’t have one of these markings. 

Blockchain and supply chain transparency

What if you could trace the entire journey of a garment?

This is the promise of blockchain technology for fashion and other supply chain industries. The blockchain is a decentralized ledger that stores data across a network of computers.

At each step of the supply chain, information such as the date of manufacture, journey, and quality control checks can be automatically logged on the blockchain. This means that at any point in the future, you can access this information.

This could be an important tool to combat human trafficking and sweatshops. The blockchain has the potential to be a single source of truth for the entire fashion industry. Providing a complete record of the journey of a product can help consumers make more informed purchasing decisions.

Even more with non-fungible tokens, a garment or handbag would have a unique ID, which would be traced back to the factory where it was created in. This would make it much harder to copy because every item would be different from the next. You couldn’t just take a bag from one designer and slap a different name on it as you could trace it back to the exact person who made it and realize it is a fake.

 

Conclusion

From protecting the environment to combatting counterfeit products, blockchain technology presents a unique opportunity to make a positive impact on the world.

The fashion industry is one of the most lucrative industries in the world, and it is also one that is extremely reliant on technology.

With the rise of non-fungible tokens, fashion brands will be able to use blockchain technology to make their products more traceable, authentic, and environmentally friendly.