Merch as meta-medium: the anthropology of sustainable development

Abstract

Fashion is the second-largest industry. It has a great impact on the global economy, environment and on society. Fashion not only reacts to consumption behaviours but influences behavioural changes that may factor into other markets. For instance, fashion frequently uses tools such as advertising campaigns and conceptual fashion shows to address a variety of issues that can range from social equality to global warming. In realms of capitalism where the act of buying becomes also a statement, fashion brands are raising awareness among consumers in order to establish brand loyalty. However, despite rather hypocritical attempts of some major, but not only, fashion brands to catch on emerging trends in sustainable development, there are several issues that simply cannot be addressed without facing the fact that the economic model and the ideals of society are not sustainable to begin with.

There is plenty of supposition that technologies based on decentralization such as block-chain will eventually force major changes to the current socio-economic models. For instance, the mass adaptation of peer-to-peer file sharing protocols in the early 2000s forced the music industry to take into consideration rising demand for digital music along with escalating legal issues. Similarly, strong hype around blockchain and cryptocurrency–especially in connection with the advancement of artificial intelligence technology and big data–goes hand in hand with rising debate on human values, critical views on liberal capitalism and environmental crisis. However, technology alone cannot solve the very problems that humanity is now facing.

The thesis is a series of essays and free writings compound together in the form of anthropological analysis of sustainable development and other contiguous topics. Structurally, the thesis is intended to reveal (through experience) different ideological phenomena that make the crisis inevitable. The concept of merch is part of the thesis’ speculative design inner project that is a meta-medium to the work as well as the axis of becoming of the communication field.