This writing explores the hypothesis that the integration of Near Field Communication (NFC) and Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies are the fundamental groundwork for tokenizing physical clothing, transforming it into a whole new asset class within the next decade. I posit that these technologies, alongside blockchain, will catalyze the fashion industry into a decentralized social network and advertising landscape that will serve as a trojan horse for the mass adoption of the ‘Metaverse’. Enhanced by emerging technologies like augmented reality and spatial computing, the next generation of influencers are just as likely to be selling their digitized moments through merch drops on streaming platforms as they would be on the actual merch itself. Don’t take it from me…

“Tokenization will be the next generation of markets.“

-Larry Fink, CEO Blackrock (Fink, 2022)

The centralized and disparate softwares that comprise the fashion logistics, supply chain management, and e-commerce industries will all eventually have to cede to integrations with blockchain. Tokenization of physical fashion products will convert the fashion industry into the next massive ad-space as individual garments become canvases for advertisers in the case of sponsorship hungry influencers. For most people however, tokenized fashion means authenticity, transparency and exclusivity.

Why NFC and RFID? Because these technologies are secure, encryptable, and less susceptible to counterfeiting compared to visual codes. They’re already a well established part of many digital supply chain and logistics platforms, so any scalability problem is distilled into an interoperability issue between siloed service providers. This is where blockchain comes in (Johnson & Smith, 2023). This paradigm shift for fashion will be akin to the “contactless payment” revolution for finance (Doe, 2021).

Here’s a collection of my thoughts on where we’re headed…

Blockchain’s role in digitizing fashion assets is multifaceted, extending beyond mere transactional functions to encompass aspects of authenticity, traceability, and consumer engagement.

“Tokens are bearer instruments. The token for $100 or for a seat at a Rangers game is either in my wallet, in which case it is mine, or it is in your wallet, in which case it is yours. When a token goes from my wallet to your wallet it is now yours. There is no clearing or settlement, no reconciliation and no question of authenticity.”

-David G.W. Birch (Birch, 2022)

When it comes to enhancing authenticity and provenance the immutable nature of decentralized ledgers is its most significant asset in combating the pervasive issue of counterfeits, particularly in the luxury segment. By creating a permanent and unchangeable record of each item’s history, consumers can finally be afforded a level of transparency previously unattainable. For instance, the collaboration between the renowned Stella McCartney and the blockchain platform Provenance. The partnership aimed to provide proof points about the sustainability of Stella McCartney’s products, tracing the journey of items from production to retail (McCartney & Blockchain Initiative, 2023). Blockchain’s traceability significantly boosts fashion sustainability by transparently tracking product lifecycles and material origins, ensuring ethical supply chain practices (Green & Fisher, 2023).

The 1st Gen of Metaverse hardware is already here, and you won’t be surprised to find out that it’s the “smartphone” as it is in its current incarnation. And while 2024 seems set to be the year of the AI agent with devices like the Rabbit R1 pocket companion running the Large Action Model (LAM), we might also see tokenization of AI generated content, a regulatory measure discussed by Altman himself (Altman, 2023). I mention all of this to show that tokenization is the throughline that connects all of the latest technology together. With fashion it will be no different, as we’ve already seen proof of this in some efforts by large industry players like LVMH with their AURA consortium (LVMH Report, 2023). However, NFC is still overlooked by most of these blockchain projects in part due to cost, but cutting corners means less security inherently (Taylor, 2022). This is because NFC is not susceptible to the same kind of attack that visual codes, like QR’s are, which are more favored by the industry currently. A QR code can be copied, altered to redirect to another destination, or just flat out covered over with another malicious code whereas NFC comes in a wide variety of configurations to include “write-once” and encryption features that obfuscate data from threats. In the context of NFC’s potential in bridging tokenized physical fashion garments, a counterfeiter would have to quite literally get their hands on the authentic garment, cut out the tags without damaging it, and adhere it to a fake item and sell it. Also assuming they’re able to breach the data on the tag, it wouldn’t be readable because most likely it’s tied to a centralized company server(s) with its own security. In 2020 it was estimated that 125 million people in the U.S. had mobile NFC capabilities, and that number has surely grown alongside the projected 14.8% CAGR for the global NFC market from 2021–2028 (NFC Market Report, 2021).

Understanding “Metaverse Ethnography” is the deciding factor for the next generation of unicorn startup projects. Published in the academic journal Frontiers in Sociology on June 2nd, 2023 and written by Peter Forberg & Kristen Schilt the article “What is ethnographic about digital ethnography? A sociological perspective” introduces the three key terms that matter most when defining metaverse ethnography which are metafields, connection, and flow (Forberg & Schilt, 2023). These conceptual terms define how to analyze the sociocultural dynamics within virtual environments.

• Metafields: refer to the overarching digital spaces or environments where online interactions and activities take place. They can be thought of as the virtual arenas in which social interactions, cultural phenomena, and various forms of engagement occur. Ex. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
• Connection: encompasses the various forms of linkages and relationships that individuals establish in virtual environments. This includes social connections, network ties, and the ways in which individuals interact and engage with each other online.

Ex. Friend/Follower feature on Twitter & Meta Platforms.

• Flow: denote the movement and circulation of information, content, and interactions within digital spaces. This concept captures the dynamic nature of online activities, such as the dissemination of information, the exchange of ideas, and the patterns of engagement within virtual environments.

Ex. Sharing a viral post with friends.Tokenization as the next generation of markets now makes perfect sense through this metaverse ethnography perspective as blockchain technology provides an interoperable digital base layer for hosting connections between metafields massive and small. This flexibility and scalability means that the creation and impact of entirely new metafields are bound to multiply exponentially within the coming decade. Fundamentally, there’s no flow without a metafield and that’s where markets come in. This is why I believe that every internet marketplace at some point will cede to integrations with blockchain, because the current largest marketplaces like Amazon, Alibaba, Uber, Zillow all have massive supply. Supply is crucial when it comes to tokenization of physical assets because demand would in my assumption fall under flow as a pattern of engagement. The main hindrance to mass adoption has been how unapproachable blockchain has become for the average person with a seemingly large learning curve, isolated and clicky online communities, and dApps (decentralized applications) that don’t connect to existing Web2 architecture creating a prolonged customer journey for task fulfillment. I’m convinced that the next generation of markets will take a page out of the current playbook that AI companies like Rabbit Tech are employing, by developing systems and processes that streamline actions. Markets built with connection that’s masked via blockchain linkages that allow everyday consumers to authenticate and transact directly and seamlessly with the technology already in their hand, will have a jump on securing supply. This new generation of markets will function specifically to optimize transactions between people online and/or in-person because realistically over time it would stand to reason that as more tokenized supply grows, the interactions will become increasingly decentralized. So markets themselves might boil down to “licensable” smart contracts in a sort of way or even social media forums where collectors immediately put up monetizable links.

‍Tokenization will become Socialization. Digital ownership implies digital passports. Tokengating is only logically going to become the next subscription model for the upcoming generation of “influencers”. In a world where all of your fashion is NFC tagged and tokenized, the fashion itself becomes worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it because of its physical scarcity PLUS its gateway potential to anything else on the internet. The implications of this for the future of social networking will be of course that individuals would then be able to imbue garments with compilations of their favorite moments. Curated and distilled across all of their social media accounts and etched digitally into the clothing forever. Access to those moments can be shared through possession, even behind a paywall. Now sponsorships and affiliate programs become the new “blue check” for influencers who can literally wear their endorsements like athletes. In a world where AI empowered AR and Spatial Computing devices get smaller, cheaper, and last longer, people will become walking billboards. “Influencers” at the top of the social capital hierarchy for brands will become the new trendsetters by one upping each other with their digitized endorsements. Inherently the rugged garments and those of higher quality that last longer will see the highest appreciation in a market like this because they’re more well suited to stand the test of time and multiple owners.This will all stem from a rise of fashion technology companies that will provide a managed resale model for brands wanting to capitalize on the rising popularity of resale. It’s an opportunity many brands won’t pass up because of the increasingly huge financial potential at scale. Amongst many things the tags will provide a way for brands to profit each time the garment switches hands i.e. each resale. The thought is that instead of a rather centralized KYC system that sits on a blockchain tracking all of an individual user’s habits and behaviors through a digital passport, the individual possession of physical items and fashion could serve as a gateway to services & content itself.

‍Differentiated experiences drive loyalty, especially with high-end & luxury retailers. This is where Campgrnds comes in as a paradigm rearranging platform at the frontier of a cultural shift towards secondhand fashion. Our platform and business model is tailored specifically to power these experiences, by providing brands a scalable and direct revenue funnel from resales we facilitate between collectors via a new brand re-marketing system we like to call our Tokenized Resale Model. It dynamically links clothing to a blockchain via a secure NFC garment tag. By embedding digital tokens into fashion garments this way Campgrnds enables retailers to communicate and market to customers, authenticate, track and resell their merchandise, and exchange the value that is encrypted in the token for other merchandise, services and experiences. Otherwise known as token-gating, these concepts aren’t new to Web3. However, what’s unique about Campgrnds is how our Social Marketplace platform ties into existing rewards programs.Introducing OCRA (Omni Channel Resale Agent), an AI chat agent directly integrated into popular social media & mobile messengers like Instagram, Threads, X, Apple & Google Business Messaging, WhatsApp and more. This means from a simple tap of a mobile device to Campgrnds tagged fashion, users are automatically redirected to our AI via one of these channels. This is how and where users will access our resale market. Ownership becomes a gateway, an investment, and a story that brands are financially incentivized to assimilate and maintain. With Campgrnds brands can profit from every resale.

Traditionally a managed service model is a comprehensive, end-to-end solution provided by a third-party company meant to help retailers set up and run their own branded resale operations. It usually features a range of services such as collection, processing, listing, selling, and shipping of pre-owned items. With the goal of getting retailers into the resale market with minimal internal changes.

‍Tokenizing assets from designers directly at the point of origin consolidates many of these processes and allows us to scale our supply sign up. Our early market strategy is to capture cities & develop features for the platform that cater to the local fashion culture and trends. Working with rising brands, local designers, and entrenching our company in regional norms is authentic and impactful. As our Social Marketplace phenomenon grows, responsible stewardship will become ever more important because trust is key to any social network.

Campgrnds is focused on creating social connections that facilitate and influence trade with existing NFC technology already in the palms of over 125 million Americans. The purpose of our platform and tokenization approach ultimately boils down to capturing as much supply as possible, we’ll know we’ve hit a critical mass locally when we start to see strong demand growth levers like supply driven demand, spike during fashion seasons. To us this will mean that geographically speaking we’re a part of the local zeitgeist. For now our supply is clothing. However, like any other social network, our market supply will transition to user data as we surpass constraint thresholds around geography, product categories, and the rise of enabling mass market hardware technologies.