Elle, Polham, and Others Launch Series of Animal NFTs
All Sales Proceeds Donated...Positive Reactions from Pet Owners
'Trendy Product Images' Increase Fashion Industry's Interest in NFTs
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] 14.48 million is the number of pet owners in Korea. According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute, the domestic pet market size grew to approximately 3.4 trillion KRW in 2020. It is expected to expand to 6 trillion KRW by 2027.
The increase in the pet population and growing interest in animal rights have recently influenced the fashion industry. Recently, the fashion sector has been launching NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) related to animal rights and linking sales profits to donation projects.
Recently, the fashion industry has been continuing projects that release NFTs related to stray cats and mixed-breed dogs, donating the proceeds to charity. Photo by Elle website capture
Recently, the fashion magazine 'Elle' announced the successful completion of the 'Love, Mix' project aimed at promoting the charm of stray cats, abandoned dogs, and mixed-breed dogs. The 'Love, Mix' project is the first NFT-linked project among domestic media.
A total of 10 artists, including Kim Eun-young, Kim Hye-jung, Do Won, Ryu Eun-ji, Seo Seo, Seo Young, Son Jeong-min, Shu Shiton, Yoon Ye-ji, and recently Andersen Award-winning artist Lee Su-ji, participated to illustrate the personalities of animals naturally living around us, such as mixed-breed dogs and stray cats. The artworks were sold through the NFT platform 'Clip Drops' within 'dFactory.' All sales proceeds, excluding fees, were donated on the 19th of last month to Animal Rights Action Kara and will be used for animal protection and related legislation.
Pet owners responded positively. Mr. Lee (27), who has been raising a pet cat for five years, said, "I think this will be a step closer to changing perceptions about mixed-breed dogs and stray cats. Especially since the profits are donated to animal-related organizations, it draws more interest. I believe ethical consumption can contribute to changes in animal rights, so I will continue to pay more attention."
More fashion brands are turning to NFTs as they encourage valuable consumer spending and can make product images trendy.
Casual brand 'Polham' of Echeon Fashion announced on the 28th of last month that it will issue an NFT collection in collaboration with blockchain specialist company Galaxia Metaverse. Polham's Koshot (Korean Shorthair) NFT collection features illustrations capturing the characteristics of Korean Shorthair cats and can be used as profiles on social media and communities. Limited to 10 pieces per character, the issuance price is 50,000 KRW. Payments can be made with Ethereum (ETH), Klaytn (KLAY), etc. Consumers who purchase the artworks will also receive a T-shirt featuring the same artwork. All proceeds from the sales will be donated to the 'Korea Cat Protection Association.'
LF's fashion brand Hazzys launched NFTs on the 3rd using its virtual influencer character 'Haesu.' Haesu is a virtual character set as a woman in her late 20s working as a marketer for Hazzys' exclusive mall 'Hazzys.com.' Hazzys issued 365 NFTs depicting Haesu’s story, including her growth, her pet dog and friends, and reunion with her first love, and plans to provide them to customers through a lottery in collaboration with the NFT marketplace 'Metafy.'
The fashion industry's interest in NFTs is already a global trend. Nike, the world's number one sports brand, acquired NFT company RTFKT Studios last December and on the morning of the 23rd of last month, revealed the first Ethereum NFT-based metaverse sneakers 'RTFKT × Nike Dunk Genesis CryptoKicks' via Twitter.
RTFKT is a company that has created digital shoe NFTs in collaboration with various designers and artists. In February, 600 types of virtual sneaker NFTs created with digital artist Fewocious sold out in 7 minutes, generating 31 billion KRW in revenue. Nike CEO John Donahoe stated at the time of the RTFKT acquisition that the goal was to expand Nike's domain and role in the digital world.
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