"One of the most popular types of clothing around the world, denim is also one of environmentally hazardous garments. A case in point is the river delta in China whose water turned blue from the washing of jeans from thenearby denim factories. Lately, many brands trying to arrive at a common consensus on the issue of sustainability. Individual companies are spending on safety and sustainability certifications, like the Higg Index, Cradle to Cradle, or ISO 9000. However, there’s still no high-level awareness or data collection on the industry as a whole as every company and manufacturer has different standards. Levi's has separate requirements for a denim product than J.Crew, BLK DNM or Gap. And it's up to the mills creating these jeans to meet each requirement."

One of the most popular types of clothing around the world, denim is also one of environmentally hazardous garments. A case in point is the river delta in China whose water turned blue from the washing of jeans from thenearby denim factories. Lately, many brands trying to arrive at a common consensus on the issue of sustainability. Individual companies are spending on safety and sustainability certifications, like the Higg Index, Cradle to Cradle, or ISO 9000.

However, there’s still no high-level awareness or data collection on the industry as a whole as every company and manufacturer has different standards. Levi's has separate requirements for a denim product than J.Crew, BLK DNM or Gap. And it's up to the mills creating these jeans to meet each requirement.

No clear knowledge on certifications

In order to differentiate themselves from competitors, mill owners are acquiring all the sustainability and manufacturing certificates available in the market. Nobody has a clear understanding about which certifications matter to consumers or how they all stack up against each other.

The industry needs to examineeach of these standards and find overlapping areas. This will also lead to dropping the costly third-party audits and standards altogether.Once a single standard is adopted, the industry needs to implement a system that allows it to track how people are following the standard.

Blockchainpayment system to streamline transactions

A blockchain-based system benefits everyone in the denim industry. This system allows companies to usea payment system that incentivises good behavior. As each participant in the supply chain achieves its goals, like meeting the new standard, it can automatically receive discounts or rewards that incentiviseit to continue working in a sustainable, ethical manner.

A blockchain payment system also streamlines transactions and automates the incentive system through smart contracts.Companies can prove the sustainability of their products by putting manufacturing records on the blockchain.

Increased efficiency and beneficial data leads to sustainable future

In this system, companies design files to autonomous machines at different locations, where customers wait while the clothing is quickly made on-site.As production is done on-demand and on-site, companies will spend less of their time and money in chasing down audits and looking for the latest certification. Over time, the blockchain ecosystem will provide increased efficiency and more beneficial data leading to a more sustainable future for denim.