Given that we believe in honesty and transparency over everything we think that the first thing to say is that at the moment, our environmental impact calculation is based on data from our own garment factory alongside a few appropriate research articles for data on the rest of the product journey (which can be found here). Why? Well it’s the same reason that you see brands using certificates instead of measuring the exact impact for all of their processes themselves – because it’s a HUGE task. This is a task that we are already in the process of undertaking and we will be implementing this into our technology as soon as we can.

We started implementing our Proof of Concept within the textile industry first because it is one of the biggest polluter industries in the world. For example, the amount of water required for making one pair of jeans, equals one week of drinking water for a village of 600 people. Ahhh, we’re starting to see why they thought you didn’t need to know.  

By being able to see the exact breakdown of the production process and the subsequent impact for each of these stages, you as the consumer can consciously support the brands using more environmental processes and consequently force the other brands to clean up their act. (That only works if brands are PaperTaled though, so if you want that power then you know what to do).

All of this is made possible through the use of a powerful tool called Blockchain which allows data about any of the aforementioned features to be uploaded, verified by a named party and then never changed – that’s never changed because it CAN’T be changed. Anyone might come to the conclusion that we are trying to avoid corrup….. moving on.

Since this technology is being continuously developed, the possibilities are almost endless with regards to implementing in other industries; therefore the development of this platform is far from being at its fullest potential and we envision that a lot of different authentication points will be added with time, but we believe that the current operations and information being confirmed by the blockchain, is a great foundation to start with. 

We are proud to say we have created a “Proof of Concept” and it is now up to you as a consumer of the world to decide if the transparency provided this technology is a tool you would want to have when buying products. We know this technology can serve as a new industry standard and in the future it can be implemented in several industries, and not just the textile industry.

WHY IS IMPACT CALCULATION NEEDED? 

Fashion brands are making all sorts of claims but can we really trust them? 

In the name of sustainability, many different certification methods have arisen during the last decade or so, but the problem is that in general it’s both easier and a lot cheaper for the factories to simply bribe the inspector to receive the certificate, than to actually implement the procedures and processes which are needed to receive the certificate. To prove this point, we just have a look at the incident at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, where more than 1 100 people died and in excess of 2500 people got injured in the collapse of the factory – this factory had several of the major certificates and hence was supposed to be fully secure and practising good working conditions. What’s the point with all these certificates when they are simply being bought instead of implemented? 

Wait, what are we doing asking you questions. Our pay grade extends so far but want you to be the ones asking questions (especially to your favourite brands). But hey, go easy on them – often when production is outsourced brands only see what the factories are showing them, so the blame isn’t entirely on them…well we’ll let you decide that)

There is a reason you never wonder who made your garment and that’s because generally you are guided in every thought direction except that one – “check out this new celebrity partner who just signed our range, and oooh la la this new shiny fabric is so in vogue right now and even has glitter that dissolves in oceans to become fish food. See what we mean,  the very last thing you’re thinking about is the people who made the garment – and why would brands want you in that thought process when the reality is that the average garment worker often earns around 3 dollars per day and there is definitely no such thing as 8-hour work day. The garment industry is one of the most labour intensive industries and the demands on factories to keep their costs down for brands is a recipe for exploitation of workers. 

Although it would be way cooler for us to take a rouge James Bond outlook and tell you “no one is worthy of your trust”, unfortunately we didn’t quite fit the bill for that part (for reasons we are too sore to mention still), and so we’ll stick to being the slightly more nerdy guys that we are and tell you about the super cool things we do so you can decide who to trust yourself: 

With PaperTale (which is based on blockchain technology) we not only confirm the identities of the workers and ensure they have registered contracts, but we also make sure that there is no child labour behind the products that we buy. 

HOW IT WORKS:

1. We register all the factory workers on the system and they confirm that their ages are above the legal requirement 
2. Given that each garment has its own PaperTale tag, every single bit of work done by a particular worker can then be logged onto that tag. That leaves us with every garment having an associated pool of workers, each with their exact tasks and number of hours worked, logged on the PaperTale system.
3. With all of that information, we can then ensure we the workers get paid as per law for all the hours they have worked 
4. The workers confirm on the system that they have received their correct salary (I mean, it would be crazy to have anyone else verify that except them, right?)
5. You log on to the PaperTale app and see the amazing craftsmen associated with your exact garment as well as their salary payroll. (PS if there is a green tick next to a salary payment, that means the workers have verified they recieved it).    

Before any piece of clothing leaves the factory, the following three points have to be fulfilled;

1.  The salaries for the workers on each garment have been paid as per law
2.  All the workers on each garment have employment contracts
3.  All the workers have received their salary slips.

Our technology acts as a network of protection for people in developing countries, allowing them to have a voice and confirm themselves that everything brands are saying is true.

In developing countries, where most of the world’s worker force exists, quality education is merely a fantasy. This is the main reason poor people tend to end up in the vicious cycle of poverty, generation after generation. The child of a sweeper usually ends up as a sweeper.

We believe education is the best way to lift people out of poverty and to make them self-reliant. Around 80% of the world’s population lives in the developing countries and since a large part of the population doesn’t have access to good education, they cannot be part of innovation and creativity. We want to equip people with good education which will create more scientists, engineers, doctors and so on, to make the world a better place for all of us. (We nearly quoted Michael Jackson there but we didn’t want to risk losing your attention by getting a song in your head!) 

As we describe in the “see the product and impact journey” feature, each part of the production process is broken down and so you can see the environmental impact for individual stages. Our Environmental calculator then calculates the total impact for the whole production process, et voila, you have your garment’s impact. (Ps you may find that you actually own  an “environmental calculator” as it is just any calculator that can add up – sorry we just wanted to give it a cool name).  

Please understand that, for the moment this impact is only based on the materials and processes (it doesn’t include the transport) and is calculated based on data from our garment factory combined with research from a few studies. We are in the process right now of creating our own system that measures the exact impact for each garment (including transport) and this will be implemented as soon as possible. (By soon we mean actually soon because we have an agenda). 

So, how does the compensation work? 

1. If you choose to press the “Compensate for free button” after buying and scanning the product, then 1USD (already incorporated in the clothing price) gets collected. 
2. We transfer the money to specific designated PaperTellers in the exact place where your garment was made
3. They plant a tree specifically selected for the climate in that place
4. You not only see the full transparency of the donation in the app but you also get regular pictures and updates. 

You’re being a good citizen just by buying things you like and clicking a button – And that’s what we like to call “The Good Greed”. 

As much as we like to show off the cool design of our app, the true beauty of PaperTale is that it is all about us, the consumers, the workers, the PaperTellers. 

Consumer power is all about the information we have and well, until now  the information that allows us to make rational decisions has been pushed to the back while marketing campaigns playing on our less rational, emotional view has been at the forefront. 

And yet, bringing this information into the consumers sight is merely the first level consumer power. What are the other levels? 

1.) INVOKING INDUSTRY CHANGE 

Once we have one brand PaperTaled and giving us this information then other brands have to start following suit. You can approach your favourite brands and demand that they be at the forefront of this industry change. 

2.) CAUSING WORLD CHANGE 

Once we have hundreds of brands PaperTaled then we can really start making a change – just imagine for every item of clothing that is bought from a brand, 2USD are collected and this helps put a kid to school and plants a tree. That’s a lot of money that is traceably going to raising people out of poverty and making the environment climate positive. 

3.) DOMINATING IN EVERY SENSE 

Finally, if everything was PaperTaled, we believe that we would be giving so many more people an education that in no time we will be waving at Elon Musk from Jupiter while he is sat on Mars.