Wearable Technology Is Key To Making Our World Sustainable

When it comes to using wearable technology, the possibilities for their long-term benefits can be easy to ignore. Many of us see using wearable tech as an easy way to change our music when out on a run or to read messages that come in for us on the train. Some of us even use them for the variety of fitness apps out there.

While others might argue over the best wearable brands, such as Garmin VS Apple, as you can find here, the focus is also being placed on the long-term benefits that wearable technology could have for our world.

Sustainability is a major talking point today and with good reason – people want to do more to look after the world that we live within. Wearable technology, then, could have a positive impact on this desire to make the world more sustainable long-term.

Wearable Technology Helps Sustainable Living

The end of fast fashion

One of the main blights on making a sustainable world is the ‘fast fashion’ industry – the mass production of throwaway garments that barely last for the length of a typical trend. They are a major problem for making a more sustainable world. The development of wearable technology that looks good and has a clear function, though, could bring an end to the need for quite so many dubiously-built fast-fashion accessories.

The hope is that in time people will start to look to more purposeful clothing garments and accessories as opposed to generic, featureless clothing.

The focus on durability

A common problem within both tech and fashion is the durability of products. Something can break with needless ease in these industries due to the use of cheap, more affordable materials to meet mass production needs.

However, a focus on durability is expected for one simple reason: people are paying more. It is easier to let a garment or an accessory sit in a drawer to rot if it costs just a few dollars; smart tech, though, costs much more than this. As such, the quality of the design has to match the quality of the function. By forcing manufacturers to use higher quality garments to support the longevity of the installed technology, the actual quality of fashion items could soon improve.

Whether we are talking about a smartwatch or even a smart handbag there is a desire to see products last for longer, ensuring they retain their strength and conditioning for as long as the technology installed lasts.

However, threats do exist

While there are clear benefits to investing in wearable technology to help us be more sustainable, it has to be tempered with reality. Combining the fashion and the technology worlds – two of the industries with the shortest lifespan per product out there – means making sure that old industry trends do not stick around.

This is a common problem in the industry. Raw materials which are used in the development of wearable technology mustn’t become waste. We need to avoid another generation of smart tech being worn a few times before being replaced to degrade in a drawer somewhere.

The threat of allowing the history of both fashion and tech industries to repeat themselves is a genuine issue. However, with the threat now made clear to those in positions to make a change, the focus is on creating trendy wearables with a function that can last more than a single season.