MILAN – The Aura Blockchain Consortium, founded by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the Prada Group and Compagnie Financière Richemont in April 2021 and since then also including the OTB Group and Mercedes-Benz, is joining the Sustainable Markets Initiative Fashion Task Force.
The SMI coalition, aimed at accelerating the transition toward a more sustainable future in the global fashion, textile and apparel sector, was launched by the Prince of Wales during the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland in 2020, and its Fashion Task Force is chaired by former Yoox Net-a-porter chief Federico Marchetti.
The Aura Blockchain Consortium’s technology “will help to build transparency, innovation and a collaborative spirit within the fashion industry and together we will accelerate our path to sustainability,” said Marchetti.
“It is a privilege to support HRH The Prince of Wales’ Sustainable Markets Initiative Fashion Task Force along with its members and teams through the Aura Blockchain Consortium’s private blockchain and NFT solutions as we work toward our shared vision to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable future,” said Daniela Ott, general secretary of Aura Blockchain Consortium. “We are excited to start the collaboration with the Fashion Task Force’s team to push circularity and traceability forward.”
The fashion task force has focused its attention on delivering action across two specific areas throughout 2021 and 2022: Regenerative farming and unlocking circularity through digital ID, which allows manufacturers, brands, retailers, resellers and recyclers to provide unprecedented transparency and traceability of the products they sell. It also unlocks new circular services for customers, such as care and repair services, as well as ones focused on resale and recycling.
The Aura Blockchain Consortium already enables and supports participating members to tag their products with secure, unique blockchain-based identities that can track a product’s manufacture and supply from raw materials through to end consumers. Pursuing the idea of solutions “for luxury brands by luxury brands” as part of a long-term strategy toward the metaverse, the consortium is continuing to develop its technical roadmap to include various NFT solutions.
As reported, Brunello Cucinelli last month said he was joining SMI by funding the Himalayan Regenerative Fashion Living Lab. The SMI Fashion Task Force is headed to the Himalayas in the first phase of a long-term, green fashion project and Cucinelli is on board through his namesake company.
The SMI Fashion Task Force — which has 15 members including Giorgio Armani, Stella McCartney, Burberry, Zalando and Selfridges Group — will look to mitigate or reverse the impact of overfarming, overgrazing, dwindling water supplies and the long-term use of damaging pesticides in various regions.
