TODAY, WE ARE MARKING OUR INTENT FOR WEB3 WITH INTO THE METAVERSE: AN EXCLUSIVE NFT DROP OF DIGITAL AND PHYSICAL PRODUCTS. Erika Wykes-Sneyd – VP of Brand Communications, adidas Originals:
Source: INTO THE METAVERSE: HOW WE GOT HERE AND WHERE WE ARE HEADED
Unfortunately, the prices for NFTs aren’t the only thing that’s huge: They come with an astonishing environmental footprint. According to one estimate, the creation of a single NFT, on average, produces as much greenhouse gas as a 500-mile trip in a typical American gasoline-powered car. – Hiroko Tabuchi New York Times
I’ve been a major proponent of the work being done by adidas. They’ve been leaders in the use of ocean plastics with Parley. They entered the circular economy with Made to be Remade, and they partnered with a rival in recent IPO brand Allbirds to create a running shoe with, “The lowest carbon emissions performance running shoe we have ever created.” – FutureCraft.Footprint adidas has been solid in their dedication to being better. I even wrote a post on their three pronged strategy to end plastic waste:
adidas’ Three Pronged Approach to Sustainability Includes a Revised “Infinite Play” Resale Strategy
With all of the work the company has done, like Nike’s announcement that they acquired RTFKT, all of the work on being more eco-conscious is erased by striving to stay ahead of the cool curve. I’m not an expert by any means and I have my own issues, but I’ve worked hard on reducing our family’s carbon footprint and to do a better job in our household. We have reusable bags for groceries. The cars we own are fuel efficient vehicles. We’ve cut back on eating animal products. I do most of our shopping for clothing and I buy better apparel from brands that are making real strides in eco-friendly products. I’m only one person. adidas, Nike and ASICS are all staking their claim in the arms race to capture cool and to ride the wave of Web3 and the metaverse. It obviously makes business sense. The money flying around is insane, but this video they’ve launched to celebrate their announcement of NFTs is possibly one of the most tone deaf items of content I’ve seen:
Louis Armstrong sings “Wonderful World” as videos of NFTs purchased by adidas fly towards a green earth. Much in the way that Nike used The Beatles “Revolution” to sell sneakers, the song usage here is in very bad taste, but it’s simply the response of teams fighting for real estate in the economy of cool. When Nike announced their acquisition of RTFKT, I made this statement to someone on LinkedIn making the case that Proof of Stake could make NFT mining on the blockchain more efficient. The LinkedIn user was justifying their purchase of NFTs, so I responded:
I did mention PoS (Proof of Stake) for mining, but as you said it’s not there yet. Your argument is the perspective most who are collecting will have. You benefit, you want it, so you see the positives, but Nike is a thought leader. When they jump in the water, everyone else in the sneaker industry will eventually follow. (Although ASICS already attempted a pretty poor NFT launch.) While people can’t see the effects, there won’t be enough servers at the bottom of the ocean to offset the inevitable.
My response to the person on LinkedIn wasn’t as informed as it could be. I was right though. Not 24 hours after Nike’s announcement, adidas delivered their “Into the Metaverse” salvo. What I missed in my response was information that completely counters the introduction of Proof of Stake. In an article on NFT Street the author states, “The problem with the switch is that those involved in NFTs would all need to agree on the switch to another system. If not, the whole system could entirely collapse. The entire system has been based on valuing the amount of power that is utilized during the trade. “Proof of Stake” would change the core of the value and transactions.” The author continues by saying both PoS and PoW will inevitably lead to the collapse of the metaverse along with our environment.
The picture above is an NFT purchased by adidas from Bored Apes Yacht Club. The resemblance to digital group The Gorillaz is uncanny and possibly one of the major reasons the BAYC did so well in sales. The Gorillaz have long been a group considered anti. They weren’t enamored with getting accolades for the music they created. They wanted the art to speak. I think BAYC is similar in their approach. They want to promote a decentralized marketplace that is counter to the consumerism promoted by companies like adidas and Nike. The ironic part is that in an interview less than six months ago RTFKT stated they were against what big brands were doing and they wanted to stand for inviting kids into a place where they could create without restrictions. adidas’s announcement of their partnership with gmoney, Pixel Vault and the Bored Apes Yacht Club is rooted in their claim to be about community, but as these brand encroach on the marketplace, the will squeeze out smaller voices and shape the metaverse into a platform that serves their endgame of revenue. While the sneaker community celebrates these announcements, and there will be more, I want to be on the right side of this and say, I understand it, but we don’t need this.
Note: adidas December 17th drop will feature 30,000 NFTs. That’s the equivalent of a gas powered car driving 15,000,000 miles. https://www.adidas.com/into_the_metaverse