Please describe your proposed solution.
We propose creating an unofficial Cardano apparel website. It will sell Cardano and ADA themed apparel, alongside apparel that will display NFTs and promote projects that are built on Cardano. NFT apparel will be designed with QR codes, so that the ownership of the NFT can be verified and inspected. Initially Tangent apparel will be sold, with the hope of slowly integrating other popular projects on Cardano for representation (subject to their permission and respect for IP). The website will also integrate with ADAPay in order for purchases of the products to be transacted in ADA. With Cardano’s low transaction fees and efficient transaction speeds, the website is sure to show off the qualities that makes Cardano one of the most superior blockchains to-date.
An important principle within the Cardano ecosystem is environmental sustainability. The use of the Proof of Stake (POS) structure, alongside initiatives to plant 1 million trees, are all examples of the dedication the Cardano ecosystem has to protecting the environment. In accordance with this ethos, products sold on the website will be sourced from suppliers who use fabrics made of recycled materials. Additionally, the background of suppliers will be researched to ensure that all products are produced under fair labor principles.
Please describe how your proposed solution will address the Challenge that you have submitted it in.
Dapps, products, and integrations are crucial in providing real use cases for Cardano and the ADA currency. Most uses for cryptocurrencies like Cardano are mainly localized to other digital applications. In other words, there are few opportunities to use ADA to purchase real world goods. A Cardano apparel store addresses this problem by creating an online website that allows customers to purchase Cardano related apparel with ADA. By reaching out to other Cardano based tokens/projects and seeking their permission, representation of the diversity that exists on Cardano could be showcased within the store and this would provide invaluable promotion to these smaller projects. Furthermore creating a store of this sort not only provides greater utility to use of ADA, but also can expand upon the utility and value to Cardano NFTs with the sale of special NFT themed apparel that provide NFT artists/owners with another form of passive income and monetization for their NFTs.
What are the main risks that could prevent you from delivering the project successfully and please explain how you will mitigate each risk?
Creating an apparel product line is a significant endeavor. Using high quality fabric created from recycled materials while ensuring fair labor practices further increase the challenge. Manufacturers will need to be vetted and where possible traceable industry standard compliance certificates displayed to ensure that fabrics are indeed sourced from sustainable means (i.e. is this cotton 100% organic, where is the proof, etc). Creating a website is simple enough, and the payment system of ADAPay is already developed. Another issue is forming partnerships with NFT artists, native tokens, dapps and projects built on Cardano. It is very important to ensure that Intellectual Property is respected and that artists receive a fair share of any profits generated from the sale of apparel based on their designs. Also verifying that NFT holders do indeed have the rights to reproduce their NFT and sell them is another issue that will require investigation. Therefore taking an approach of gradually rolling out designs and merchandise for sale is the best approach. For example starting with Cardano (ADA) designs (that are subject to open source copyright) and then moving to the larger native token projects who would be happy to just have promotion for their project/dapp, before finally contacting NFT artists and holders.