By Michael Colarossi, vice president, product line management, innovation and sustainability, Avery Dennison
The global fashion industry accounts for 8-10% of CO2 emissions, more than aviation and shipping combined. It generates mountains of textile waste and faces a number of other environmental challenges, including releasing microplastics, polluting and draining water sources, and causing deforestation.
But it is an industry embracing change. I felt this at ITMA 2023 in Milan last month (8-14 June). As well as giving a talk on digital product passports (DPPs) & the future of textile recycling, I had the opportunity to connect with key players across the supply chain. I left encouraged by the direction and urgency with which the industry is innovating. From textile manufacturers to big-name retailers, there is a new determination to adopt technologies and business models to address the climate emergency.
It was amazing to see the textile industry come out in full force. The energy was palpable. Here are my three big observations from the show:
Circularity
ITMA, billed as the world’s largest international textile and garment technology exhibition and conference, focused squarely on this core challenge: How can fashion become circular? The industry has moved past sustainable products, which is now an expectation. What we must aspire to is practical ways of making garment circularity a reality. Each year an estimated 100 billion garments are produced, of which 92 million tons end up in landfill. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, only 1% are recycled into high-quality new materials.
If the fashion industry could achieve a closed-loop system, hardly any textiles would need to go to landfill or be incinerated. Instead, clothes would be endlessly recycled and made into new garments. However, to do this at scale we need to collaborate far more within the apparel industry so that transparency is achieved. With wide scale use of digital identification technology – which will be required by upcoming digital product passport legislation – and proper investment in global recycling facilities, the industry can pave the way to circularity.
Digital engagement
Digitising the supply chain, from raw material to recycled material is a hot topic, driven by a continued desire for efficiency and transparency. You can now have a Digital ID on every garment that will enable all sorts of amazing things: consumer engagement, traceability, and transparency, omnichannel cross-communication, and more. Textile suppliers around the world are collaborating more closely with their retail clients to share product data, and this in turn will give fashion shoppers and the textile recycling industry the means necessary to extend the useful life of clothes.
Overproduction
The fashion industry is plagued with two problems that result in millions of items of new clothing never being sold each year. First, due to analogue development processes, apparel brands and retailers are challenged to accurately forecast consumer trends and demand 12-18 months in advance. Second, the length of the apparel supply chain makes responding to sudden changes in demand incredibly difficult.
Avery Dennison’s recent Global Supply Chain Research found that apparel companies discard 2% of stock due to damage plus a further 4% due to overproduction. That’s a total of 6%, estimated as $15.3 billion for the global apparel industry – waste textiles that should not have been manufactured in the first place. Smarter and smaller manufacturing processes that could be placed closer to the point of consumer consumption, and supply chain visibility and management, were therefore hot topics at ITMA.
The potential of the industry adopting technologies such as AI, RFID and digital, on-demand manufacturing platforms was discussed, in order to improve forecasting accuracy and eliminate unnecessary textile waste.
In summary, delegates at ITMA acknowledge the need to leverage technology to drive transparency, circularity, and sustainability in the textile industry. As a participant focused on driving positive change, I’m confident the transition from talking to doing is happening. A raft of new laws will cement change very soon, so it’s time for the industry to work together, focus, and deliver.
About the author:
Michael Colarossi is vice president, product line management, innovation and sustainability, Avery Dennison. He spoke at ITMA 2023 on the 13th June.
