This startup launched with Blockchain-traceable T-shirts made from good earth cotton

by Arthur · April 25, 2023

The Fision wants to create and encourage a more sustainable and circular clothing industry and launches T-shirts that can educate consumers on their production journey.

The transparent and traceable clothing company aims to disrupt the apparel manufacturing industry through “conscious awareness and continuous truth-seeking” using clothing as a good tool.

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“Our team is made up of industry veterans and driven by a desire to communicate the truth about the environmental and societal costs of the current industry,” said Josh Gelder, CEO of The Fision. “We see the future of fashion as transparent, and we came together to set out to make real changes in the industry that align with our mission-driven values. We hope to show both consumers and our peers what’s possible by using 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 range of cotton T-shirts made from 80 percent Good Earth Cotton, the first and only regenerative farming method that promotes biodiversity for soil health.

“Good Earth Cotton is not only innovative, but also a climate positive leader,” said Gelder. “Good Earth Cotton’s regenerative farming method allows the soil to sequester more carbon than the entire cotton growing life cycle releases, which is a natural fit for us.”

“We’re starting with T-shirts as a dynamic, purposeful tool to educate, enrich and transform the way we think about interacting with our clothes,” Gelder said.

The remaining 20 percent is made from recycled cotton, obtained from consumer waste, scrap and residual materials from the ginning process.

“We use recycled cotton to encourage [circularity]to reinforce moving away from a purely extractive model and to further reduce the amount of water used to make the t-shirts,” Gelder said.

All clothes are 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 print online with wholesale and customization options available to brands, non-profits and retailers.

Fision uses ocean-bound plastic for packaging, bottling POLLAST!C items and poly bags from Better Packaging Co. The startup offers an app that tracks 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 older 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 product experimentation, learning and development with new developments so we remain at the forefront of sustainable clothing.”

Fision uses blockchain technology to verify products in real time as they move through the supply chain. By working with FibreTrace, an invisible partition is built 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,” said Gelder. “From our unique ‘Ownership by All’ company structure to our radically transparent manufacturing practices, we aim to inspire change.”

Traceability of garments is an area with increasing focus in recent years. In mid-January, FibreTrace launched 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 products.

“Fision is embarking on a complex mission to innovate a new, more sustainable clothing model, and the speed of experimentation is critical to uncovering solutions that the wider industry can adopt,” said Gelder. “While we are going to expand [our] range, our focus remains on launch, learning and development, while avoiding overproduction.”