Metaverse fashion is framed as a sustainability play. Is it?

07/14/22 • 53 min

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The metaverse became a household term after Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook as Meta, and Fortnite gamers started attending virtual concerts wearing Balenciaga hoodies. And now the utopian web3 vision has come for fashion.

Brands are framing their digital clothes, shoes, and accessories as a sustainability play. This week, Christina, Rachel, and Shilla look past the marketing hype and think through the long-term impact.

Then, has fast fashion ruined thrifting? Second-hand retailers are being flooded with donated clothes from the likes of Shein, H&M, and Zara, and seasoned thrifters are despondent. It’s driving up prices and making those desirable vintage and unique items harder to find. What is the future of thrifting?

We’ll finish with a dose of optimism by sharing some of the trends and companies that are keeping us feeling positive about the fashion industry.

Resources:

Wired: The metaverse could radically reshape fashion
WWD: Metaverse as a magic sustainability bullet? Think again.
New York Times: 'The golden age of thrifting is over'

Hot Buttons is a production of Post Script Media. The show is hosted by Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker. Follow the show on Twitter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ll finish with a dose of optimism by sharing some of the trends and companies that are keeping us feeling positive about the fashion industry.

Resources:

Wired: The metaverse could radically reshape fashion
WWD: Metaverse as a magic sustainability bullet? Think again.
New York Times: 'The golden age of thrifting is over'

Hot Buttons is a production of Post Script Media. The show is hosted by Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker. Follow the show on Twitter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

Is recycled plastic clothing a lie?

This week, we’re talking about plastic fashion. Your Instagram and TikTok feed are probably littered with feel-good ads for clothes and shoes made from recycled bottles. But they aren’t the solution you think.

Then, it’s a new world for brands doing business with China. America’s crackdown on forced labor is twisting supply chains putting brands in an uncomfortable position. How will fashion reorient itself?

And we’ll finish with a reality-TV breakup with fast fashion. Can ‘Love Island’ push pre-loved clothing into the zeitgeist?

Resources:

Vogue Business: Recycled plastic swimsuits aren’t as green as you think
NPR/Frontline investigation: How big oil misled the public on recycled plastic
New York Times: Global brands seek clarity on Xinjiang
BBC: H&M seems China sales plummet after Xinjiang boycott
Vox: how your favorite jeans may be fueling a human rights crisis
Reuters: 'Love Island' dumps fast fashion for second-hand eBay partnership

Hot Buttons is a production of Post Script Media. The show is hosted by Christina Binkley, Rachel Kibbe, and Shilla Kim-Parker. Follow the show on Twitter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next Episode

H&M’s sustainability deception

H&M has an uphill battle to be taken seriously as a sustainable fashion brand, and last week it got even worse. Quartz published an investigation into H&M’s use of an environmental impact scorecard to misrepresent the sustainability of its clothing lines, finding the company used faulty data to make claims that were patently false. Not a good look for a brand trying to remake its image.

We’re delighted to have the author of that article, Amanda Shendruk, as a guest this week. She’ll talk us through the details of H&M’s missteps.

Then we take another look at the industry’s challenges around transparency, and talk through the Fashion Transparency Index for 2021, which ranks fashion brands by “what information they disclose about their social and environmental policies, practices and impacts, in their operations and supply chain.” The results aren’t encouraging. Brands have a long way to go in wages and worker conditions, supply chain carbon emissions, purchasing practices, their COVID response, and supply chain traceability.

Resources: