How Fashion Brands are Solving Sustainability with Digital Product IDs

Blue Bite empowers brands to drive sustainability, engagement and sales with unique product IDs.

September 25, 2023

It’s no surprise that, as it exists today, the fashion industry has numerous negative, lasting impacts on the environment.

But what if brands could achieve sustainability and circularity and help the environment — rather than causing irreversible damage?

The answer lies in digitally connected products and brands working with consumers to create a truly sustainable economy. With personalized Digital IDs on individual garments from Blue Bite, brands can become leaders in the circular economy.

The Problems With Current Fashion Sustainability

Estimates show that the fashion industry is responsible for a staggering 2-8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

However, that’s not the only negative impact the fashion industry has. If no actions are taken, it’s estimated that the fashion industry's carbon emissions will increase at a rate of 2% per year — accounting for 2.7 billion metric tons a year by 2030. Click below to see an infographic on the problems with current fashion sustainability.

See the full infographic.

As it exists, the fashion industry is not designed to be sustainable. Brands often flourish on consumers’ over-consumption and use a massive amount of resources in the process.

Not only is this bad for the planet, but consumers are increasingly demanding better from brands.

In a McKinsey & Company survey about sustainability in fashion, two-thirds of respondents said that it’s important to reduce impacts on climate change. And 88% think that more attention should be paid to reducing pollution. Another survey from NPD revealed that more than a third of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable clothing.

Imagine a world where fashion means 100% sustainability for the earth and increased profits for brands through the circular economy.

Here’s what truly sustainable production could look like.

The Future of Sustainable Fashion

The green technology and sustainability market is projected to grow from $11.43 billion in 2021 to $41.62 billion in 2028 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 20.3%, according to a report from Fortune Business Insights.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that if brands switched to a circular design, it would save an estimated $1.3 trillion a year in the European Union alone.

Complex medium-lived products (like cell phones, appliances, etc.) could save up to $630 billion per year, while fast-moving consumer goods (like household cleaning supplies) could save $700 billion per year.

Consumers are demanding better from brands as they look to shop sustainably. Brands must also meet sustainability goals and meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives.

Brands that don’t start switching to sustainable, circular business models risk falling behind competitors and losing customers to the competition.

To remain or become leaders in the fashion industry and grow their bottom line, brands must tap into the circular economy.

How Brands Can Build the Future of Sustainable Fashion

Digital, connected products are key to brands meeting sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs) and being industry leaders and meeting ESG standards..

Connectivity goes beyond traditional QR codes on tags or packaging that lead to landing pages. With personalized Digital IDs for each product, connectivity leads to true circular production and sustainability. Brands can track key metrics, share them with consumers and suppliers, provide personalized experiences on an item-by-item basis, and more.

This doesn’t just mean that skirts have a different ID and provide a personalized experience compared to jeans, for example. Two of the same identical garment have personalized IDs — similar to an item SKU but leveled up.

Blue Bite Digital Product IDs and the Future of Fashion Sustainability

With Blue Bite’s Digital Product ID, products are connected to the cloud so brands and consumers can always make the right product decisions on how to best:

  • Return
  • Re-use
  • Re-sell
  • Recycle

This empowers brands to achieve a truly circular economy — and provide an excellent consumer experience that builds engagement and loyalty.

Companies customize product content down to the item level, which brands haven’t been able to do before.

With Blue Bite, brands are empowered to take advantage of everything Digital IDs have to offer, including:

  • Sustainability initiatives
  • Easier entrance to the circular economy
  • Supply chain tracking and tracing
  • Gray market diversion
  • Returns tracking
  • Identifying items on secondhand marketplaces
  • And more

Brands can customize this information and experience to each garment on the item level and share powerful data with consumers to help them play their role in the circular economy.

Become a Leader in the Circular Economy and Beyond with Digital IDs

With connected products and unique Digital IDs, brands, consumers, and manufacturers are empowered to play a role in sustainability and circularity to make the fashion industry 100% sustainable — a win for everyone. This translates to sustainability efforts with the ability to provide information and instructions on how to lengthen the lifecycle of products and keep them out of landfills.

However, this doesn’t stop at sustainability — brands are empowered to provide personalized experiences to enhance the way they connect with consumers.

How it Works

  1. Enable products with a Digital ID
  2. Create dynamic experience (“connect to digital worlds”) Including the metaverse (words they used)
  3. Measure KPIs in real time.
  4. Achieve a circular economy

Click below to get the process started to speak to an industry expert and get customized information on how digital product IDs can add value to your brand and consumers.

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