This Startup Launched With Blockchain-Traceable Good Earth Cotton T-Shirts
The Fision wants to create and encourage a more sustainable and circular apparel industry and is launching T-shirts that can educate consumers on its production journey.
The transparent and traceable apparel company aims to disrupt the apparel manufacturing industry through “conscious awareness and continuous truth sourcing” by using clothing as a vehicle for good.
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“Our team is comprised of industry veterans and fueled by a desire to communicate the truth about the environmental and societal costs of the current industry,” Josh Gelder, CEO of The Fision, said. “We see the future of fashion being transparent, and we came together to embark on making real industry change that aligns with our mission-driven values. We hope to showcase to consumers and to our peers alike what is possible utilizing tomorrow’s technologies today so that it becomes the industry norm of the future. We aim to inspire change, to share what we uncover and to encourage all brands to do the same.”
So, the pending B Corp company is launching a selection of cotton T-shirts made of 80 percent Good Earth Cotton, the first and only regenerative farming method that promotes soil health biodiversity.
“Good Earth Cotton is not only innovative, but also a climate positive leader,” Gelder said. “Good Earth Cotton’s regenerative farming method allows the soil to sequester more carbon than the entire cotton growth life cycle emits, which is a natural fit for us.”
The remaining 20 percent is made from recycled cotton, sourced from pre-consumer waste, scraps and leftover materials from the ginning process.
“We incorporate recycled cotton to encourage [circularity], to reinforce moving away from a purely extractive model and to further reduce the amount of water used in the creation of the T-shirts,” Gelder said.
All apparel is knitted, cut and sewn in Los Angeles. Each T-shirt retails for $99 and is available in black, white, navy and a special edition “Wear Responsibly” rainbow graphic print online with wholesale and customization opportunities available for brands, nonprofits and retailers.
The Fision uses ocean-bound plastic for packaging, tapping POLLAST!C mailers and polybags from Better Packaging Co. The startup offers an app tracing each garment’s journey from cradle to consumer. It donates 1 percent of each sale to one of several causes the customer can choose at checkout.
“The legacy fashion industry is not moving fast enough, or too often, legitimately,” Gelder said. “The technology available to us all is ripe for innovation, and we at The Fision intend to lead with speed and purpose in our product experimentation, learning and evolving with new developments so that we remain at the forefront of sustainable apparel.”
The Fision uses blockchain technology to verify products in real time as they move through the supply chain. Working with FibreTrace, an invisible divider is embedded directly into the raw fiber of each garment, which is scanned and verified at each step. Consumers can track the journey of each product via a scannable QR code on the garment or via the app.
“We are not only committed to communicating the truth about our products while exposing the environmental and societal impacts of the fashion industry, but to holding ourselves accountable from the inside out,” Gelder said. “From our unique ‘Ownership by All’ company structure to our radically transparent production practices, we aim to inspire change.”
Garment traceability is an area of growing focus in recent years. In mid-January, FibreTrace released FibreTrace Mapped, a free and turnkey digital traceability solution that maps the global supply chain from fiber to retail. Brands from 7 For All Mankind to Reformation have implemented FibreTrace’s traceability technology. Avery Dennison research suggests that 60 percent of fashion consumers want more transparency about garment product.
“The Fision is embarking on a complex mission to innovate a new, more sustainable apparel model, and speed of experimentation is paramount to uncovering solutions that the industry at large can adopt,” Gelder said. “While we will expand [our] assortment, our focus remains on launching, learning and evolving while also avoiding overproduction.”
