There are many different approaches to making the fashion industry more sustainable. These start at the following points: material innovation, business model innovation and consumer experience. All interlock and aim to reduce the CO2 emissions caused by the fashion industry. I would like to briefly introduce you to the different approaches in this blog.
Material innovation: CO2 emissions can generally be reduced by growing organic cotton or organic flax (linen). It will be exciting in the area of material extraction with the topic circular supply chain. This includes recycling and upcycling of existing material. The Garment-to-Garment Recycling Machine ( https://www.garment2garment.com/ ) developed in 2017 enables fully automated recycling in 8 steps - from discarded to new garments. This is used by the H&M Group in a store in Stockholm. Upcycling converts waste products or (apparently) useless materials into new products. You can find more about this in the blog post “ What is upcycling fashion? "
The business model innovations go in two directions: on the one hand, resources should be conserved, on the other hand, they aim at changed consumer behavior. Products should be preserved for as long as possible before they are recycled and turned into new products - also known under the buzzword " circular economy" . Concrete approaches are digital platforms for reselling or renting clothes.
Almost 40% of the clothes are sold at reduced prices. Therefore, new business models should be more precisely tailored to the needs of customers. Through algorithmic trading and the use of artificial intelligence (AI), we can better understand the needs of customers. This makes it increasingly possible to sell the right products in the right quantities at the right place.
Consumer Experience / Circular products: To put it in the words of Li Edelkoort to say, “We need to reconnect with our clothes.” Digitizing clothes can provide important information such as: Where was the garment made? What material is it made of? How much CO2 was caused by the production? Who made the garment? The use of Product ID can also support customers in exchanging, sharing or simply showing clothes. All of this can lead to a change in the relationship with our clothes.
Another means is the use of 3D full body scans. This allows fashion customers to scan their exact measurements. In the future, new collections can be shown directly on the customer's avatar, which means fewer returns and greater customer satisfaction.
In the future, there needs to be a convergence between digital and circular innovations so that it becomes easier for customers to develop new behaviors and establish a new relationship with clothing. However, the responsibility also lies with us manufacturers. The innovations help us to operate sustainably and to respond better to the needs of our customers.