Waste2Wear using blockchain technology to track ocean plastic fabrics

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With more people becoming concerned about the amount of plastic being found in the ocean, one company has created an innovative way to use this plastic, designing fabrics from recycled ocean plastic. Now, they are taking the extraordinary step to ensure that they can stand behind their claims, as Waste2Wear has implemented a new blockchain-based technology that will help the company track the supply chain of the fabric.

The Dutch clothing company wants to assure customers that the materials used in the clothing are authentic. This means consumers and distributors will have the means to be able to track the fabrics that are made out of post-consumer plastic waste collected from the Earth’s oceans.

The new clothing line was designed to ensure that this plastic will not wind up in landfills. Waste2Wear is now showing the clothing at the international textile fair Première Vision.

Waste2Wear had been using recycled plastics in their clothing for quite some time, but clients were clamoring for a system that enabled them to be able to ensure that this was true. The company had originally set a date to release their platform in August, but a brief delay insured the security of the system. In a press release, the company explained:

The blockchain documents and records the journey of plastic waste, step-by-step, to become a finished textile product. This allows Waste2Wear to track recycled materials all the way back to their source, from the fishermen and pickers who collected the plastic up to the final product, and all steps in between. It enables the company to provide their customers with complete transparency, leaving no doubt that all fabrics and textile products are made out of post-consumer plastic waste collected from oceans, and saved from ending up on landfill.

Originally, the plastic waste used is collected from a small island near Shanghai. Working with local fishermen, they had foregone their nets and are now collecting this waste, collecting over 3 tons per week.

For environmental advocates, the fact that this small island area is able to collect that much waste in one week is proof that there are serious concerns about the pollution problem in our oceans. Because of this, Waste2Wear has expanded its operations, collecting over 30 tons of waste per month now.

That seems like a huge number but, according to National Geographic, there is more than 9 million tons of waste dropped into the ocean every year.