Sustainable fashion in the metaverse: a team effort

It’s true, you can’t speak to anyone about gaming in 2021 without mentioning the metaverse. The digital world represents both the present and the future of our industry, and it’s a badge we wear with pride at Lockwood. When designing the metaverse, we also have an opportunity to try to fix some of the things that are not right in the world we live in right now — we can make it more inclusive, more welcoming and remove geographic, financial or social barriers.

The good news is, we know we’re not alone in thinking this! As brands and industries alike have rushed towards the digital world, our stance has always been clear. Building an environment that is able to thrive for generations to come is paramount.

This week, we take a look at what our peers have to say about sustainability and why it’s a key part of their mantras — just as it is ours!

Paying “Tribute”

We have to say, we absolutely love the work being done over at Tribute Brand! Their entire ethos is based around creating an inclusive, and adaptable, space where users can transfer aspects of their offline personality over to the digital world. And we couldn’t agree more.

We need to ensure our metaverse is a world that is built from the ground up — not top down — in order for it to be somewhere its users can continue to flourish. Tribute Brand, like Avakin Life, does just that. They too believe that digital fashion is “a future we should embrace”. To do so, we must continue to minimise waste by eradicating physical deliveries and production, as well as putting an end to gender, sex or size exclusive items.

The pandemic, although awful, has allowed our creative industries the chance to press the reset button. A chance to make better, futureproof choices that will benefit generations to come. Brands can no longer hide behind the mask of being “high-end” as a means for being wasteful. There are too many amazing examples of high quality products being born out of little or no waste at all that are also more readily available. It can (and should) always be at the forefront of our thought process.

“Don’t shop less, shop digital fashion”

A staggering “40 billion items generated by the fashion industry” end up in landfills each year. DressX are helping to lead the charge to make sure that number is reduced dramatically. Their “don’t shop less, shop digital fashion” mantra is something we can all get behind at Lockwood: choose pixels over threads! Fashion in the metaverse isn’t about limiting creativity — quite the opposite.

It’s about approaching the creative process in a way that always looks to have forward-thinking ideas at its crux. Whether that be financially or environmentally, we need to be doing everything we can to ensure the metaverse we love is here for the long-haul.

Production of a digital garment emits 97% less carbon dioxide than that of a physical garment — these numbers don’t lie. DressX is committed to swinging the pendulum enough that this is widely considered to be the norm. As well as producing garments with a virtually weightless carbon footprint, they donate 1% of their revenue to No More Plastic, an organisation that is dedicated to shaping a new future together. It’s one we definitely want to be a part of!

The Fabricant

Our friends over at The Fabricant are hell bent on showing the industry a new way of operating. On average, wetting processes during the life cycle of a t-shirt amount to 683 litres of water consumption per item, whereas virtual production skips this part of the process entirely. It’s something that digital fashion can not only boast proudly, but also use to set an example to the real world.

Not only is the amount of wastage hugely detrimental — it’s almost entirely avoidable too. Time and time again, the metaverse doesn’t just only show that there is a more than viable alternative, it shows how accessible this alternative can be to all lovers of fashion and creativity.

Allies all around us

There is a rightful buzz around the metaverse currently, however the levels of excitement must be matched by foresight and responsibility. Building connections via creativity is one thing, but doing so in a way that not only preserves but improves our current landscape should be the name of everyone’s game. A joint, responsible ownership of our creative space is a minimal requirement for everyone that wishes to be involved with the digital world.

We’re proud to have over 80 million items sold or traded within Avakin Life every month. And we’re even prouder to know that not a single one of those will end up forgotten in a landfill. Sustainability matters and it’s time for action. We’re in — are you?

Let’s continue the conversation, we want to hear from you! Get in touch on Twitter, Facebook or drop us a message on Instagram!