The Metaverse and the Circular Economy
Who remembers the metaverse? Not so long ago, the metaverse was touted as the next big thing in tech. In 2022, Meta Platforms (the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and What’s App) invested US$13.7 billion into the metaverse with little return. Despite AI now being the darling of the tech world with much more practical applications, for some reason, I do not believe the metaverse is dead quite yet.
Decentraland, a 3D virtual world browser-based platform, hosted the 2023 Metaverse Fashion Week. The good news is that it was well populated by big-name brands. The bad news is that it was lonely, difficult to navigate and boring. The aim for brands is not to sell digital clothes. As BPM-PR Firm CEO Monique Tatum explains a virtual fashion show might have lower costs than a real-world fashion show and be more available to a wider audience. “Brand awareness is the name of the game, and these are not only fascinating concepts that get people talking but also something you do not need to leave the house to enjoy,” she says. And the digital nature of something like Metaverse Fashion Week means that events can more easily be repeated, which may not happen in the real world.
If brands are looking to extend their consumer reach, those of us who work in the sustainability and circularity industry need to do the same. Most of us are locked into a world where we are continually talking to the converted rather than being more evangelical in converting others, particularly consumers. We cannot continually rely on government regulation to do our work, and enforcement will always be a challenge. Consumers have almost no exposure to how resource scarcity is going to impact their lives.
The metaverse has a lot to offer, and despite its high energy consumption, it could reduce travel, and it will change the way we work and learn. So why is mainstream adoption so low? Analysts at Intel believe our global computing infrastructure needs to be 1,000 times more powerful to comfortably sustain the metaverse. It would also require us to switch to cloud-based gaming software with higher resolution capabilities.
The metaverse is thriving in the gaming computer world. Can the metaverse be used to convert consumers to improving resource management? I think it can…
References
Here’s How Much Meta Platforms Spent On the Metaverse in 2022
Metaverse Fashion Week had Big Brands but Few People
Fortnite Gave Its Fans the Tools to Build a Whole Universe
What Does the Metaverse Mean for the Future of Energy Consumption?
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