Opinion: embracing emerging technologies like AI and blockchain can help achieve sustainability and transparency in the fashion industry
Zugzwang [zʌɡzwæŋ], a chess term, describes a situation in which a player is forced to make a move that can only weaken their position. This could also describe the current state of the fashion industry due to the negative impacts of the rise of fast fashion.
Fast fashion has put the industry under pressure. Low cost, rapid manufacturing, mass consumption, and vast amounts of waste have had many negative impacts on society. A number of moves have been made by players in the industry where people and the planet have been treated as pawns: profits placed ahead of concerns for sustainability in the fashion industry.
Ten years after Rana Plaza, has fashion changed? There is a need for a paradigm shift within the industry to make sustainability, ethics, and transparency the norm. The implementation of technology could improve long-standing social, ethical, and environmental issues. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outline building resilient infrastructure, promoting sustainable industrialisation, and fostering innovation as one of their goals by 2030. The exploration of the latest technologies could transform the fashion retail industry into a sustainable experience that consumers desire.
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From RTÉ 2FM's Jennifer Zamparelli, sustainability expert Fionnuala Moran on how to make more ethical choices when shopping for clothes
Supply chain transparency
Consumers are demanding more transparency about where their products are coming from and who is making them. According to McKinsey & Company, 60% of fashion consumers in Europe say transparency is important. There are a variety of stakeholders along the supply chain involved in the production of garments. Blockchain technology can act as a reliable source of information.
Tracking and tracing the product's journey from its origin supports the rise in demand from consumers for supply chain transparency. This technology can enable brands to verify ethical processes and practices while proving the authenticity and providing consumers with sustainable products.
Design and AI
The future of fashion is circular. The circular economy for consumer goods had global revenue of $338.9 billion in 2022. This figure demonstrates a desire to reuse, repair, and recycle existing products to extend its lifespan. Creating a closed-loop lifecycle mentality at the design phase means garments are made to last. This shift demands radical transformation and innovation to implement new sustainable business models.
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From the Fashion Innovation Agency, designer Martine Jarlgaard on blockchain's potential for forging greater trust along the fashion supply chain
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) enables teams to analyse sales data and trends to predict consumer demand, and forecast styles for the coming season. It creates a tailored approach to customers, resulting in optimised inventory management and reduced overproduction. AI can also generate 3D models of garments creating virtual samples to reduce the need for physical samples, minimise waste, and decrease costs.
Sustainable manufacturing
Almost three-fifths of clothing produced ends up in landfills or an incinerator within a few years of being manufactured. This is equivalent to one truckload of textiles in a landfill every second. The rise of a mass-produced, globalised fashion system has led to an unequal supply chain, plagued with illegal labour practices and overproduction.
In Dana Thomas's book Fashionopolis, the concept of 'rightshoring’ resonates as a possible solution. It refers to the reboot of domestic production that looks different from the manufacturing in the 1980s, with state-of-the-art technology and transparency. "Innovation is going to snowball, and quickly. Social issues, especially sustainability, are important. And it’s tech-driven. Very automated," stated former Nashville Fashion Alliance head, Van Tucker. Reimagining the manufacturing process could achieve sustainability by means of technology to digitise operations, integrate renewable energy sources, and explore sustainable material development.
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From RTÉ Brainstorm, the high cost of fast fashion
A digital store experience
The store environment is evolving as digital goes hand-in-hand with the brick-and-mortar experience. It is essential to create an omnichannel approach to fashion retailing by connecting stores, eCommerce, mobile applications, and social media. This can help connect and build relationships with consumers on a deeper level through data insights and humanise the customer journey seamlessly from the in-store experience to online and digital touchpoints.
Farfetch's Store of the Future integrated the two worlds together, creating an immersive experience in a physical retail space. They implemented augmented reality (AR) into their fitting rooms with the use of a 'magic mirror' for virtual try-on. This technology can act as a catalyst to solve the problem of size and fit within the industry. This could result in lower returns while creating a personalised experience for the customer.
Chess draws many parallels to society. There is a social hierarchy where the pawn is the everyday consumer, constituting the majority of our society: their role may not be as powerful as the kings and queens but they have the power to shape things. As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "There is power in numbers and there is power in unity." It is time to challenge the status quo; pawns in large numbers have the power to overturn the big players of the fashion industry. Embracing emerging technologies for good has the ability to achieve sustainability goals for the future of the fashion industry. Ultimately, this will create a better business model going forward.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
