Fashion in the virtual world: The negatives of going digital
In the midst of a digital frenzy, the fashion industry is losing its way – sacrificing craftsmanship, quality, and humanity on the altar of innovation and profit. Gucci’s all-out embrace of digital fashion, with its virtual pop-ups, digital-only collections, and NFTs, is the latest symptom of a disease that’s affecting the industry: the loss of human connection and unique, individual style, replaced by a uniform, cookie-cutter approach. And with NFTs, the industry is also perpetuating a culture of artificial scarcity, environmental degradation, and financial speculation, all while distracting us from the real issues of sustainability and social responsibility.
Considered a major fashion innovation of the 21st century, this concept has its roots in video game culture and dates back to the late 1990s and early 2000s. Virtual clothing is often seen as a solution for the waste and pollution of traditional garment production. While the elimination of physical materials may reduce fabric waste, the energy consumption required to create, store, and trade virtual garments is significant. Blockchain technology, often used for NFTs and digital ownership, relies on energy-intensive processes that contribute to carbon emissions. Furthermore, the increased demand for powerful servers and data centers further strains resources, making the environmental impact of digital fashion more complex than initially perceived. Digital clothing is sold through digital models and virtual avatars.
What is Carbon Footprint?
Carbon footprint measures the amount of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) resulting from human activities. The emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) occurs through human activities, such as, heating, burning fossil fuels for electricity, transportation, producing concrete, deforestation and waste disposal
Understanding Carbon Footprint in Digital Fashion
To truly assess the environmental impact of digital fashion, it’s important to understand the carbon footprint of its production processes. Unlike traditional clothing, digital fashion eliminates textile manufacturing, dyeing, and shipping, all of which contribute significantly to carbon emissions. But digital fashion is not emission-free.
The carbon footprint of the digital fashion industry is estimated to be around 10% of the total fashion industry’s carbon footprint, which is approximately 2.1 billion tons of CO2 equivalent per year. The production and distribution of digital clothing can generate up to 30 kg of CO2 equivalent per item, which is comparable to the carbon footprint of a physical t-shirt.
The environmental impact of NFTs is a particular concern for Maxine Bédat, founder of the New Standard Institute, As she notes: “The carbon footprint of NFTs is staggering. We’re talking about a technology that’s based on energy-intensive blockchain transactions, and that’s just not compatible with a sustainable future.” on “The Dark Side of Digital Fashion” by Vogue Business.
Key emission sources
Behind the sleek, high-tech designs and virtual runways lies a complex web of energy-intensive systems that are quietly contributing to the industry’s carbon footprint.
The creation of digital garments, for instance, requires powerful computing systems and energy-hungry design software, which demand significant amounts of energy to render complex textures, fabrics, and movements. The expertise of digital artists is also crucial, but their work comes at a cost – the energy required to power their computers and software is substantial.
But that’s not all. Digital fashion exists in the virtual world, but the files that make up these digital garments must be stored and shared through cloud servers. The energy required to store and transmit these files across the internet is considerable, especially when factoring in large-scale data centers, many of which run on non-renewable energy sources. These data centers are the backbone of the digital fashion industry, but they come with a hefty environmental price tag.
And then there’s the intersection of digital fashion with blockchain technology and NFTs (non-fungible tokens). As digital fashion becomes more entwined with these technologies, the carbon footprint becomes even more pronounced. Blockchain, which underpins NFTs, operates on a decentralized network of computers that consume vast amounts of energy, especially in proof-of-work systems like Ethereum. The result is a digital fashion industry that is quietly contributing to climate change, even as it touts its sustainable credentials.
Despite avoiding the tangible waste seen in the production of physical garments, the demand for powerful computing resources brings hidden environmental costs. The carbon footprint of digital fashion is often overlooked, yet it remains significant, especially given the exponential growth of the digital economy. As the industry continues to evolve, it’s essential to acknowledge and address these hidden costs, lest we sacrifice the planet for the sake of virtual style.
Emission comparison between Traditional fashion and Digital fashion
A key argument in favor of digital fashion is its ability to reduce the environmental harm caused by fast fashion. Traditional clothing production is infamous for its resource intensity. Without the need for textiles or transportation, its potential to cut emissions appears promising. However, the overall emissions saved by moving to digital-only fashion are not as straightforward as they may seem. While digital fashion avoids physical waste, it substitutes it with the energy costs of running servers, rendering 3D designs, and, crucially, minting NFTs on energy-intensive blockchain platforms. Minting an NFT Produces around 211kg of CO2 emissions and is equivalent to driving a car for 520 miles or a flight from New York to Miami while manufacturing a physical garment the production of a cotton t-shirt produces around 10kg of CO2 emissions and producing a pair of jeans produces around 33kg of CO2 emissions. In short, Minting an NFT has a significantly higher carbon footprint than manufacturing a physical garment. The energy-intensive process of mining and validating blockchain transactions drives the high carbon footprint of NFTs. In contrast, the carbon footprint of physical garments depends on the production process and materials used.
Role of NFTs in Digital Fashion
NFTs are often built on blockchain platforms like Ethereum, which use proof-of-work protocols to validate transactions. This validation process requires complex computational tasks to be solved by high-powered computers, which consume vast amounts of electricity. In fact, some estimates suggest that the energy consumption for minting a single NFT can be equivalent to the electricity used by an average household over several weeks.
By adopting greener technologies, promoting energy-efficient design practices, and encouraging consumers to make sustainable choices, digital fashion can become a viable, lower-carbon alternative to traditional fashion. However, it will require collaboration across sectors—from designers and developers to consumers and cloud providers—to ensure that digital fashion realizes its potential as a truly sustainable solution.
