In the age of blockchain, Ubuntu is alive and well! Dr. Tyrone Moodley, in his article "Building Pan-African Collaboration Through Technology" writes that: "“I am because we are,” has always been Africa’s original consensus algorithm. Blockchain just gave it syntax...Ubuntu provides the ethos—collaboration over competition, shared prosperity over extraction." Ubuntu is the philosophical belief behind the Afrogoth fashion movement.
Dr. Moodley foresees a Pan-African Protocol Alliance, "a distributed DAO of cities, innovators, miners, artists, and financiers." In a previous post, I asked: "DAfrOgoth: Would a DAO structure work best for Afrogoth and Afrogothers?" An article on fastercapital.com titled "Decentralized fashion and beauty: From Runway to Blockchain: How Decentralization is Reshaping the Fashion Business" defines what a DAO is then gives details of how DAOs can benefit the fashion industry: "DAOs can enable the creation of decentralized fashion communities, platforms, and markets, where participants can collaborate, share, and exchange value in a democratic and transparent way...a DAO can be formed by a group of fashion enthusiasts, who can pool their funds and resources to support emerging designers, curate collections, and organize events...a DAO can be created by a fashion brand or a platform, who can invite their stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers, and employees, to join and have a say in the decision-making and value distribution. DAOs can also foster the innovation and experimentation of fashion, as new ideas, designs, and trends can be proposed, voted, and implemented by the DAO members."
There are many advantages of decentralization in the fashion industry. It enables "more participation, collaboration, and diversity in the fashion ecosystem." It allows "designers, makers, and consumers to create new and original products, services, and experiences." Two examples are given: thefabricant.com and Dematerialised. In the article "The Dematerialised: Revolutionizing Virtual Fashion for a Digital Future" by EcoPixelWear, we are informed that Dematerialised (DMAT) is "a digital fashion platform that offers virtual garments and accessories as NFTs (non-fungible tokens)". The digital fashion assets "can be worn in the metaverse, used on social media, or traded in NFT marketplaces." The powerful mission of Dematerialised is to "empower creators, embrace sustainability, and reimagine the possibilities of fashion in the Web3 era."
Dr. Moodley writes that decentralization has an empowering element because it gives "more voice, choice, and control to the stakeholders of the fashion industry" which then fosters "more trust, loyalty, and engagement among them". Four examples are given: MakerDAO and Aave which use "blockchain and smart contracts to provide decentralized finance solutions for fashion entrepreneurs" and DressX and EcoStyler which use "blockchain and artificial intelligence to create personalized and interactive fashion experiences for consumers, such as virtual try-ons, styling recommendations, and social sharing."
Decentralization also promotes sustainability and circularity. Dr. Moodley gives four examples: Loomia and Provenance, which use "blockchain and smart tags to track and verify the origin, quality, and impact of fashion products" and The Renewal Workshop and Reflaunt which use "blockchain and digital tokens to facilitate the repair, resale, and recycling of fashion products, extending their lifespan and reducing waste." I think Ubuntu is at the heart of repairing, reselling and recycling fashion products because a fashion item is transformed from being owned by an individual to eventually being owned by a community of like-minded people.
Community, connection and shared experiences will be at the heart of the products and services that Afrogoth will provide. Technology, including artificial intelligence, will help turn this idealistic vision into reality. In the spirit of Ubuntu, ideas, questions and comments on how to go about this are welcomed!
I will end with this powerful quote from Dr. Moodley's article: "Because the future isn’t built by nations that compete. It’s built by communities that synchronize."
