The fashion industry now is in urgent need of a sustainable way of handling and tracking production facilities. One of the significant issues faced by the industry is transparency in the supply chain. Nevertheless, many research reports and surveys in contemporary times reported that using blockchain in the fashion industry could be an encouraging solution.

Customers now demand more transparency in the clothing industry in phases of influence on people and the environment. A recent survey report presents ample proof for this statement.

The report revealed that fewer than one in five (17%) felt notified about the fashion industry’s environmental and social impacts. In contrast, four in five (79%) considered clothing brands should present data on their environmental commitments, and seven in ten (68%) acknowledged brands should provide information on their viscose manufacturers and how their product affected the environment.

Conversations about blockchain being capable of bringing scalability and improved transparency are gaining a lot of news lately. A more transparent supply chain would allow consumers to have greater visibility into the product’s drive from its ‘raw material’ to the ‘final product’ phase along with the ‘waste and pollution’ aspect. 

Significant challenges in the fashion industry that blockchain could tackle

1. Prevents product fraud in supply chains
2. Information is tamper-proof
3. Eliminates intermediaries and ensures the authenticity of the products
4. Reduces Cost
5. Intellectual property protection

In a current podcast, Pierre-Nicolas Hurstel, co-founder of Arianee, a digital identity consortium, examined how the blockchain technology could be used in the luxury and fashion industry. Regarding that supply chain was the central problem, he stated that businesses should make sure to let customers know how, where, and what went in the making of the garments.

He stated, “Blockchain solves transparency problem. It is not yet widely implemented, but in another 10-15 years, blockchain will be widely developed.”

Back in 2017, about 17 companies had promised to provide transparency to their consumers, and in 2019 H&M subsidiary Arket also executed blockchain to track product data. Lenzing, a significant player in the fiber industry, also entered the technology company Textile Genesis in 2019 and introduced blockchain technology providing a new level of transparency and traceability in the textile industry; the firm is conducting five additional pilots with global brands in the second half of 2020.

Nonetheless, the Fashion Revolution’s 2019 report revealed that most fashion companies still were not ready when it came to explaining the effects of social and environmental commitments. The concept is still in the experimentation phase. If the main roadblocks, such as the lack of technical awareness among consumers and businesses, are taken care of, blockchain-powered supply chains can revolutionize the space in the coming years.