Supply chain transparency -FTs+NFTs

[IMPACT] Please describe your proposed solution.

How damaging can fashion be?

In 2013 the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed killing 1,134 people. In the aftermath of the disaster, major brands denied knowing if their clothes had been made there. Dangerous working conditions aren’t the only challenge garment workers face. It is estimated that just 2% of garment workers globally are paid a living wage.

Cotton is often called “the worlds dirtiest crop”. It takes 2,700 litres of water to produce the cotton needed for just one t-shirt. In comparison, organic cotton only uses 243 litres of water. $2-3 billion of pesticides are sprayed on cotton crops every year - 16% of the world's pesticide use. Between 1% and 3% of agricultural workers worldwide suffer from acute pesticide poisoning. At least 1 million are hospitalised every year.

When brands don’t know where their clothes are made, how are consumers meant to make informed decisions? When consumers aren't connected to how their clothes are made, why will they care about the environmental damage caused? With no transparency or accountability for sourcing decisions, why would large brands ever change?

Unfortunately this destructive cycle extends far beyond fashion. From chocolate to cut gemstones across many industries and much of the world, consumers in the developed world look away whilst people in the developing world and our environment pay the true cost.

We need transparent supply chains.

Our Proposal

tldr:

> Cardano's native asset design allows for novel approaches to supply chain transparency. Every material, stage and process in a supply chain can be represented on-chain. This implementation of blockchain technology can revolutionise visibility of value chains and drive widespread blockchain adoption.

> Our F9 proposal sets out a plan to research, develop and launch a "minimum viable implementation" of a tokenised supply chain on Cardano. This will demonstrate the advantages of Cardano's native asset design, serve as a case studies for other businesses looking to implement blockchain solutions driving adoption of Cardano and provide revenue for Origin Thread to continue to innovate new applications of Cardano.

An external version of this proposal optimised for legibility can be accessed here

What?

Research, design and build a tokenised garment supply chain implementation on Cardano.
Develop standards and doocument the tools and methods used. Share these to accelerate adoption of Cardano in supply chains by other businesses.
Demonstrate this implementation IRL by creating a limited edition of 500 shirts for the Cardano community.

Why?

The Cardano blockchain provides the tools and infrastructure for us to imagine new systems, processes and products. It’s now up to us to begin building these. Launching this mvp will demonstrate how to implement a supply chain on Cardano helping to accelerate adoption.
Human and natural resources are exploited in the production of most clothing on the market. Customers are disconnected from how their clothes have been made and the true cost of their fashion choices. New approaches which improve traceability and accountability are needed to accelerate change. By using the blockchain to bring radical transparency to our supply chain, we aim to inspire and empower other brands to do the same, increasing the awareness and demand for ethically produced clothing.

How?

To achieve these outputs, we have developed a 4 stage implementation plan.

Research

Understand the inputs, functions and outputs of fashion supply chains and explore the similarities to other industries.
Define the improvements to customers and businesses that can be attained through a tokenised supply chain.
Explore solutions and implementations that can be used across multiple businesses and industries.

Develop

Standards for material and data input.
A simplified testnet implementation of the most basic supply chain. (One material, one process and one output)
A scaled testnet implementation with a fully tokenised garment supply chain linked to an individual garments NFT

Partner and Create

Collaborate with suppliers to create repeatable information sharing processes that are effective and scalable.
Craft a limited edition of 500 blockchain backed shirts complete with fully transparent supply chain information.
Create media of the shirt’s creation to be shared in the garment’s NFT and be used to further market the brand.

Sell, Sustain and Spread the Word

Leverage content assets created with the power and passion of the Cardano Community to build awareness and excitement and the use case and product launch.
Sell 500 shirts and use the revenue generated to fund further clothing releases and continued product innovation.
Document and share the methodology and standards used to inspire and enable adoption of this use case by other brands and industries.

Outputs

First iteration of a fully tokenised supply chain on Cardano.
Documentation of implementation to allow further expansion and iteration by other businesses and industries leading to accelerated adoption of Cardano.
500 “blockchain backed” shirts with fully tokenised and traceable supply chain and verifiable authenticity.

Outcomes

A real world demonstration of the technical superiority of Cardano's native asset design for mapping supply chains. Our solution is composable and highly scalable. Our aim is for this methodology to be adopted across industries driving rapid adoption of Cardano.
A new paradigm of traceability, transparency and accountability for sourcing in the fashion industry. Our aim is to make this approach as widespread as possible helping to lessen the destructive aspects of fashion.
Sale of the collection of 500 shirts will provide funds for Origin Thread to continue to operate and innovate on Cardano.

[IMPACT] Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.

Fund 9 seeks answers to the question “*What Dapps, products and integrations can be implemented to bring impactful use cases to Cardano ecosystem that help drive more adoption?”*

Supply chain visibility is a shared problem across many industries. Creating and developing a transparent supply chain solution could help pave the way for wide spread adoption of Cardano in many industries.

By documenting and sharing our approach and the standards that we create, we hope to equip other businesses with the tools needed to implement this approach.

If large scale consumer businesses begin to tokenise physical products and implement supply chain transparency using Cardano there is the potential to onboard every consumer of those products to Cardano driving massive and widespread adoption.

[IMPACT] What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?

Change in ADA price

Grant funding is not for speculating with. We will transfer any ADA received into fiat currency as soon as we receive it.

Challenges in scope creep

Supply chain is a huge topic. There's always more that our inital implementation will be able to cover. To avoid never ending scope creep it is important for us to remain focused on the principles that underline all supply chains.

Challenges with permission to use Cardano logo

Our planned shirt design makes subtle use of the Cardano logo. Fashion has always been used to signify group allegiance and what we are doing is a continuation of this. We would like Cardano Community members to be able to recognise each other at a glance at conferences and events. Our view is that if we present our proposal clearly to the Cardano foundation they will allow us to use the logo. If not, we can still produce a beautiful and high quality product.

Change in raw material prices

Raw material prices are subject to fluctuations, particularly in the current economic climate. To mitigate this risk we will look to “lock in” prices with our suppliers as close to project kick off as possible.

Challenges in production timelines

Aligning suppliers timelines can be challenging. If not handled correctly delays and cost can mount. We will have to be mindful not to move ahead with any purchases or orders until our metadata standards are finalised.

Mistakes in production and delays

Mistakes in garment production can be common. Fortunately we have built relationships with each of the suppliers in our proposed value chain. Building extra time into production schedules helps to mitigate the impact of mistakes and delays.

Low consumer demand

The Cardano community is highly passionate and involved. Its our belief that they will be pleased to support a Cardano native business and novel implementation of the Cardano blockchain. If demand appears to be low, we will leverage existing relationships with high profile community members to help spread the word.

Expect the unexpected

The unexpected should always be expected. We have added $1740 into our budget as a contingency fund to help cover the cost of any unexpected event.

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed plan, including timeline and key milestones for delivering your proposal.

Example native asset implementation

Supply chains are composed of four elements. Materials/components, processes, suppliers and locations.

Processes are like functions. They take materials inputs and output another material or a product.

Materials and products are stored in and moved between locations. Materials, processes and transportation between locations are all facilitated by suppliers

Each of these components can be represented, shared and traced on-chain.

Here is how each element will be represented

Materials - fungible tokens

Products - fungible or non-fungible tokens

Suppliers - NFTs

Processes - burn “input” token and mint “output” token which reference burn and mint tx of input tokens asset id of suppliers

Locations - Wallet addresses

Movement - Tokens transferred between addresses. Logistics information and supplier included in tx comments.

Image File

As an example - here is how the simple supply chain for a priceless ming vase might have been tokenised and traced.

Clay supplier found - NFT minted with supplier information
Potting supplier found - NFT minted with supplier information
Clay purchased - Fungible tokens minted. Metadata links to on-chain transaction and supplier NFT asset id
Clay transported to potter - FTs transferred to wallet corresponding to potter location. Transport information and supplier recorded in comments
Vase made - Clay fts burned. Vase NFT created, referencing clay mint and burn txs, potter NFT. Additional media of the vase can be attached at this point.

First Iteration of FT and NFT Metadata for Materials, suppliers and products

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Execution Timeline

Month 1

Kick-off with key sourcing partners.
Research work begins
Server deployed and Cardano node set up.
Production timelines agreed with suppliers.
Design work on final garment

Month 2

T-shirt pattern and gradings created.
Sampling work begins
Research completed and shared
Simple test net implementations start

Month 3

Social media marketing outreach begins.
Full scale testnet implementation completed and shared.
Metadata standards for collection launch finalised
Sampling completed, shirt specification finalised.
Raw cotton purchased and process being (ginning, spinning, knitting)

Month 4

Fabric print and dye.
“Making of” film created and shared on socials
Cut and sew begins.
Sales process finalised and shared.
Shirt sales page created.
Sale date finalised.

Month 5

Cut and sew complete.
Garment NFTs minted.
Sale opens.
Final garments shipped.

Month 6

Implementation documents created.
“After-action” report on key metrics.
Seek feedback on implementation from the wider Cardano community
Search for conferences to present findings at.
Development work for future clothing collections and implementations

Shirt Design Moodboard

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Shirt Design Sketch

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[FEASIBILITY] Please provide a detailed budget breakdown.

Project management, token development, product and documentation creation - $14,100

UK living wage of $13.56 ph x 40 hours per week x 26 weeks

Production of 500 shirts - $12,500

Material - $8 per shirt

Cut, sew and packaging - $12 per shirt

Fabric printing and dyeing - $5 per shirt

Make cost of $25 per shirt x 500

Additional Development - $4000

$80 per hour (uk freelancer rate) x 50 hours

Social media management - $3360

$30 per hour x 7 hours per week x 16 weeks

Film making and content creation - $3000

Price from previous work with filmmaker Rajat Pandit.

T-shirt pattern cutting, grading and sample creation - $1000

UK freelance pattern cutter rate.

Product photography - $200

Price of photo shoot at 100 percent studios, London

Server hosting and software - $100

6 months * $100 per month.

Contingency - $1740

[FEASIBILITY] Please provide details of the people who will work on the project.

Will Etheridge - Founder, Origin Thread

www.linkedin.com/in/wetheridge/

Project Management

Supply chain research and token creation.

Web design

Product Design

I began work on what would become Origin Thread in mid 2021. I was interested in combining my interests in NFTs and blockchain technology with my passion for fashion and knowledge that we need to bring about a more sustainable world.

The Origin Thread brand is designed to answer to questions. How can the blockchain be used to improve supply chain transparency and sustainability? What does a blockchain first brand look like?

In late 2021 I travelled to India to build relationships with suppliers across the garment value chain. In keeping with our desire to build an “on-chain brand”, the story of this journey and the beginnings of the Origin Thread brand were minted as NFTs and sold to early supporters to help fund continued development. You can view this first journey here www.originthread.com/origins/001

I have built out the first iteration of the Origin Thread website and overseen the development of the token redemption application. This application will allow customers to use an Origin Thread NFT to unlock delivery of a physical product.

In Spring 2022 with help from great partners in India, we created the first Origin Thread sourcing film (www.originthread.com/origins/002/01) which recently sold for 5000 ADA showing that there is already existing demand and interest for the Origin Thread project.

We are now at the point where we are ready to launch our MVP - the first blockchain backed item of clothing on Cardano. This garment will feature an NFC tag and QR code. These will link to an NFT which contains a video of the shirts creation and links to supplier invoices. This limited run of 60 men’s shirts will go on sale on July 7th.

I have already demonstrated how NFTs can be used to enhance physical consumer products. With the help of Catalyst I hope to accelerate our research and development process and extend the reach of this Cardano use case.

Kunal Balar - Co-founder - Herbal Fab

www.herbalfab.com/about-us/

Cotton sourcing and cut and sew partner

Established in 2007, Herbal Fab are an Indian manufacturer and exporter of organic fabric. Recently, Herbal Fab have also integrated their own on site cut and sew unit.; Kunal leads the day to day operations at Herbal Fab, has developed supply chains for leading brands like Lucy & Yak and is passionate about the need to switch to sustainable farming methods.

Pearl Zepherin - Founder and Director - Guava London

www.guavalondon.com/

Pattern cutting and grading

Pearl trained as a creative pattern-cutter at London College of Fashion and graduated during the 1980s. Having consistently worked within the fashion industry from graduation, Pearl went on to establish Guava London Ltd in 2012 – where it continues to go from strength to strength. As a professional highly skilled Pattern cutter her career to date has covered a wide spectrum in fashion from luxury, premium to the high street sector.

WLTM - Freelance Developers

I am in the process of interviewing devs within our network to help share the load of the development work. If you are a developer who is interested in what we are doing, please send an introductory email to [email protected]

Dheeraj Chhipa - Textile Artisan

www.instagram.com/dheeraj_chhipa_bagru/

Fabric print and dye.

Dheeraj is one of the finest hand print and dye artisans in India. He has received multiple awards for his work and has been featured in global publications such as Selvage magazine. He is one of the only remaining artisans practising Fadat printing and is the subject of our most recent film. www.originthread.com/origins/002/01

Rajat Pandit - Freelance film maker

www.instagram.com/rajatpandit_/?hl=en

Film making and content creation

Rajat is in demand for his creative and commercial videography work throughout India. He shot and edited the first Origin Thread sourcing video. - www.originthread.com/origins/002/01

Ellie Homer - Social Media Management

www.linkedin.com/in/ellie-homer-6574ba158/

Social media management

Ellie is the social media manager at St Cuthbert’s Mill, a world leading manufacturer of traditional fine art papers and fine art inkjet papers. A self starter with keen entrepreneurial instincts, Ellie founded a successful pet-portrait business to sustain her income during the Covid pandemic.

[FEASIBILITY] If you are funded, will you return to Catalyst in a later round for further funding? Please explain why / why not.

Completion of the implementation plan we have set out will provide Origin Thread the funds required to self sustain as a business.

That said, we are building an on-chain business and many of the tools and processes we may look to research and develop may bring value to others in the community. When this is the case we will look to Catalyst to speed up development and innovation.

[AUDITABILITY] Please describe what you will measure to track your project's progress, and how will you measure these?

Updates on our progress will be shared on a monthly basis to allow the community to audit our progress. These updates will be shared on the Origin Thread website and twitter.

Testnet Iterations

Number of iterations of our supply chain model on the Cardano testnet. This will show the progress we are making on the solution. We will share this with the catalyst community by linking to the Cardano explorer view of each iteration.

Supply Chain Stages Tokenised

We will record how many stages of the supply chain we manage to tokenise in our end garment. For example, do we get to the cotton co-operative level or are we able to get sufficient granularity of our supply chain to get to the level of individual farmers? This will show the success of our partnerships with suppliers. We will share this information in the final documentation we produce.

Implementation Stages Documented

It’s our intention that the blockchain implmentation we demonstrate is used by as many organisations and businesses as possible. As such our documentation needs to be clear. The more clear the documentation we produce is, the more able this is to happen. We will record how many of the process stages are implemented.

Number of shirts sold

Developing new implementations and models only matter if you can find customers. Projects and proposals must be able to scale from needing investment to standing on their own feet. The only way to do this is by generating sales. Measuring the number of shirts sold will show customer demand for this type of product and will be the ultimate metric of whether our proposed implementation has a sustainable future. As our garments are backed by NFTs, the number we sell will be recorded on-chain. We will share this information in our final documentation.

[AUDITABILITY] What does success for this project look like?

Successful development and implementation of a tokenised garment supply chain on Cardano.
Full documentation creating allowing other businesses or individuals to follow the same methodology and tokenise their own supply chain.
Owners of the ltd edition 500 shirts will have a garment that looks and feels great and that they’re proud to wear. Having a large group attending events and conferences wearing a shirt which serves as a IRL example of Cardano’s design superiority will be a huge plus for adoption
Origin Thread supply chain tokenisation processes set up for future clothing releases.
Revenue from sales funds continuing development on Cardano.

[AUDITABILITY] Please provide information on whether this proposal is a continuation of a previously funded project in Catalyst or an entirely new one.

This is a new proposal.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Rating

Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth.

Goal 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure.

Goal 12: Responsible consumption and production.

Goal 15: Life on land.

bookmarked!