Danielle Vermeer

In this instance, investors would probably like to see founders who are “native enough” to understand crypto and Web3 with a lot of depth and nuances, who have the right network to attract crypto engineers, but who also so native that they can’t understand the experience of the average mainstream, non-crypto user they might be talking to.

“When you look at the history of the internet,” says Jeremy Morris, associate professor of media and cultural studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “a lot of the early spaces for communities also became places where people would either trade or barter.”

Kai McPhee (@knawt.kai, 260,000 TikTok followers) has been promoting sewing on TikTok since 2020. “The biggest thing I try to push out is that you don’t need a lot of money to dress how you want. Instead of just spending all my money on clothes, I decided to invest in a sewing machine and go thrifting and make my clothes.

The main reason for the harm today’s internet platforms cause is the misalignment in incentives between users, creators & the platforms — or demand, supply and platform incentives. And a lot of it comes down to advertising-based business models.

Customers say they want to be ethical consumers, buying vintage and upcycling on Depop. Reformation calls itself the most sustainable option other than being naked, while Eileen Fisher has pledged to use “sustainable materials” in 100 percent of its products. Yet what sustainability actually means in this context has become increasingly nebulous. 

In the US alone, the secondhand fashion market could grow 20% between 2020 and 2025 to reach $67 billion in size, according to estimates by Business of Fashion Insights.