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Ethics & Technology

The Dual Edge of Innovation

Navigating Tech and Ethics

Fashion Technology is no longer a side trend, it is the infrastructure shaping the future of style.

Digital Fashion and the metaverse are redefining how we consume culture, while innovations in textiles such as fiber recycling, waste reduction, and sustainable materials are tackling fashion’s most urgent sustainability flaws.

The digital product passport signals a systemic shift: accountability and traceability are becoming measurable assets, not marketing slogans, and brands that fail to adapt risk being left behind.

Textile Advancements

Cuts waste, emissions, and microplastics. Promotes sustainable fashion and fiber recycling. Supports ethics technology!
Brown vegan leather sample with green and white textured biomaterials on a neutral background

Biomaterials

  • Mylo (Bolt Threads) and Reishi (MycoWorks): mushroom-based leather. Replaces genuine leather and toxic vegan leather.
  • Lab-grown spider silk: biodegradable, replaces synthetic polyester and nylon, reducing microplastics and petroleum dependence.
  • Algiknit: algae-based fibers, low water and land usage, replacing pesticide-intensive cotton.
folded sustainable leggings made of co2 material and a purse made of new tech leather

CO₂ Textiles

  • CleanCloud polyester (LanzaTech): made from captured industrial carbon, replacing virgin polyester from fossil fuels.
  • AirCarbon (Newlight Technologies): biomaterial from greenhouse gases, replacing conventional plastics and synthetic fibers.
Swatches of polyester cotton, regenerative cotton and recycled materials

Fiber Recycling

  • Evrnu (Nucycl fiber): regenerates cotton waste multiple times, replacing virgin cotton and mixed-fabric waste that would go to landfill.
  • Circ: separates polycotton blends for reuse, reducing polyester-cotton blends that are hard to recycle.
  • Worn Again Technologies: recycles PET bottles and textiles into new fabrics, replacing single-use synthetics and virgin fibers.
Group of people in the metaverse wearing colorful outfits on a construction site rooftop with a scenic view.
Blockchain interface with a woman in a colorful dress in the background
Clothing items with Digital Passport QR code tags on a wooden surface, accompanied by a smartphone displaying product information in the app.

Fashion In Metaverse

Brands are hosting digital shows and selling NFT-based collections. The metaverse is becoming a place where digital fashion isn’t just playful. It’s profitable and culturally influential.

Blockchain for Transparency

From verifying authenticity to securing resale markets, blockchain is the backbone of ethical supply chains.

Digital Product Passport

This upcoming regulation will require every textile to carry a digital product passport with sourcing, production, and recycling details. It’s a game-changer for transparency and accountability in fashion technology.
two women trying on clothes and make up in the face app

AI and Personalization

AI trend forecasting: Platforms like WGSN and Heuritech use AI to predict style shifts with accuracy, helping brands cut overproduction and move toward sustainable fashion.

Personalized beauty: Proven Skincare and Function of Beauty leverage AI to design custom products, aligning with both sustainability and inclusivity.

Virtual try-ons: Tools like L’Oréal’s ModiFace bring digital fashion into everyday shopping. They let customers test products virtually, reducing returns and unnecessary waste.

Data Pravicy

Access

Virtual try-ons and AR tools increase satisfaction by 20%.


Platforms let sustainable brands reach global audiences.


Ethical tip: Share minimal data, adjust permissions, pick transparent platforms.

Privacy

Personal data from apps and e-commerce is often collected without consent.


Algorithms can favor certain skin tones, body types, or fashion styles.

79% of Americans worry about data misuse (Pew, 2024).

Ethical tip: Use privacy settings, demand inclusive design, and leverage VPNs.

Surveillance

Data exploitation drove $300B in ad revenue (2024), targeting fashion and beauty consumers.


Digital infrastructure and blockchain increase energy use.


Ethical tip: Support data-ethical, sustainable brands; advocate for GDPR and Right to Repair; use energy-efficient platforms.

Ethical Action

Technology can improve lives, but bias, privacy loss, and environmental harm demand action.


Inclusive design, strong regulations, and sustainable practices ensure tech benefits everyone.

Tip: Consumers, brands, and governments must work together to align innovation with ethics.

Tech and Responsibility

Group of people wearing a mix of casual and semi-formal outfits with a minimal background.

For People

Digital Product Passports make supply chains transparent, exposing unsafe working conditions and unfair wages.

AI trend forecasting can reduce overproduction, but also risks excluding diverse cultural input and erasing creative jobs.

Automation in production may cut labor exploitation or simply replace workers with machines.

Take Away

Fashion and beauty are being rewritten by technology, but progress comes with responsibility. Biomaterials replace toxic textiles and protect animals. AI and digital tools can reduce waste and overproduction while reshaping labor and creativity. Digital product passports and blockchain make accountability measurable. Ethics, transparency, and sustainability determine which brands and technologies will shape the future.

Ethics

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