yielding a lot of byproducts (e.g., volatile organic compounds, hydrogen chloride and toxic solvents). Greenhouse gas em
JUNE 2017
Be innovative in 10 minutes
Sustainable fashion market
TCBL is a project co-funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union Grant Agreement Number 646133
Fashion is one of the most relevant industries in supporting global economy expansion. According to the Boston Consulting Group, the overall apparel consumption is projected to rise by 63% by 2030, from 62 million tons in 2017 to 102 million tons, equal to 500 billion t-shirts. However, this surge entails an aggravation of environmental and social costs that is ascribed to serious issues emerging along the entire value chain, such as: Violation of human rights and labor standards. In order to keep cost low, many fashionable clothes are manufactured in bad working conditions by poorly paid people, including children, in developing countries. Overconsumption of natural resources. High water depletion, coupled with growth of natural materials on land that could be used for food production, leads to textile industry unsustainability in a time of climate change and global population growth. Discharge of hazardous chemicals. Large amounts of pollutants are released from textile dyeing, or from the production of both natural materials (e.g., cotton, which requires heavy pesticide use) and synthetic polyester fabric yielding a lot of byproducts (e.g., volatile organic compounds, hydrogen chloride and toxic solvents). Greenhouse gas emissions. Gases responsible for trapping heat in the atmosphere are copiously generated during processing and manufacturing phases, not to mention usage and disposal of clothes, causing harmful effects on health and the environment. Rampant consumerism and waste production. The continuous launch of new clothing lines, especially low-priced ones, encourages people to impulsively purchase clothes they do not need, thus creating a lot of waste with most going to landfill due to the persistent 'produce, use, throw away' model. Use of real animal fur. This ingrained practice implies the raise or hunt, and the killing of animals that humans do not eat - such as mink and fox - for the sole purposes of obtaining their fur. Ultra-thin catwalk models’ body. This excessive media exposure contributes to warped body image, which may lead both thin and plus-size people - primarily teenagers - to eating disorders and psychological distress.
Taking stock of such negative externalities, the sustainable apparel industry tries to identify sustainable ways to work across a product’s whole lifecycle.
THE ‘SHREWDER’ CONSUMER
CONSUMER affinity
textile & clothing
Source: McKinsey
Better informed
Personal gratification...
Online search, on demand, even in store
Reflection of consumer lifestyle
More demanding
trendy design
Seeking personalization and seamlessness
Customized products
More Volatile
Product as experience
Alternative shopping options are just one click away
Always On
Always connected, shopping around the clock, but time constrained
...Beyond ‘faster and cheaper’
More Conscious
Values oriented and in search for authenticity
Fair price
Connected to others
Low environmental impact
Product review and experience sharing on blogs and other social media
TCBL-enabled business models (and existing business champions)
Absolute green Focus on environmentalism at supply chain level, fostering the usage of green inputs (e.g., renewable energy, eco-friendly and organic materials) and sustainable processes (e.g., traceability, certification)
VEJA | SAMATOA | Tentree
Social responsibility Radical transparency
TCBL – as EU-funded project and global movement with responsible innovation in its DNA – supports initiatives and solutions for building a fair and sustainable Textile and Clothing industry in Europe. This passes through shifting consumer goals, expectations, and even engaging users in the processes of designing, making and personalizing clothes. All this takes place in an integrated innovation ecosystem that taps into the significant opportunities ushered-in by new digital technologies, groundbreaking business models, and valorization of artisan know-how.
eataly of sustainable fashion Establishment of an on-line or off-line marketplace offering conscious consumers a one-stop-shopping access to diversified purpose-driven T&C brands
THE FAIR SHOP | Not Just A Label | Sakina M’Sa (Front de Mode)
Mass customization
Combination of the flexibility and personalization of bespoke fashion with the low unit costs associated with mass production, resulting in a gamechanging model that places customer’s uniqueness at the heart
Sustainability orientation Customer centricity Weak
Strong
Make to assemble Supply of a wealth of product components that could be combined quickly and easily in multifarious manners, thus allowing each customer to personalize his/her own finished good
obag | Numeroventidue | Jackyceline
Bivolino | Mon Purse | LANIERI
From waste to value
‘Circular’ reuse of textile products and materials through reverse logistics that moves goods from their typical final destination for the purpose of capturing untapped value through restorative and regenerative practices (e.g., upcycling, downcycling)
Orange Fiber | RECOVER | MUDJEANS
Social responsibility as flagship
Second life Establishment of an on-line or off-line marketplace enabling the exchange of T&C goods that are not new, either transferred hand-me-down or sold for a fraction of their original value
REBELLE | TREADESY | SwapStyle
Closet sharing
High commitment to address relegation of groups that are frequently situated on the fringe of society (e.g., unemployed, inmates, former drug addicts, migrants, refugees)
Setup of a private or community-powered infinite wardrobe thanks to which individuals no longer need to acquire ownership of a product as they can access it through a service model solely for the time needed
Made in Carcere | INDEGO AFRICA | MY BEACHY SIDE
THE MS. COLLECTION | VIGGA | REnt the Runway
Crowd design
Exploitation of the crowdsourcing paradigm with the aim of collecting awesome ideas for apparel design to be turned into real products
THREADLESS | Betabrand
Do it yourself Publication of digital clothing models made available by independent designers for proximity production performed directly by customers through 3D printers, either at home or in next-door digital fabrication workshops (‘fab lab’)
MarvelousDesigner (MD store)
Predictive offering Combination of art (i.e., on-trend clothes) and science (i.e., algorithm deciphering personal styles and tastes) aimed to surprise and delight customers through a recommendation engine while saving their precious time
TRUNK CLUB | Stitch Fix | TRUMAKER
Digital makeover Purposeful digital reuse of materials of enduring value (e.g., fabric archives, book samples, photographic repertoires) to stimulate the design of fascinating, iconic collections that excite customers through an eccentric and timeless vibe
JOHN LEWIS | ZANDRA RHODES
Sustainable fashion market at a glance The fashion industry is one of the largest and most value-creating industries in the world. It employs around 60 million people along its value chain, generated 1.5 trillion euros in annual apparel and footwear revenues in 2016 and it keeps growing (Boston Consulting Group and Global Fashion Agenda, Pulse Of The Fashion Industry, 2017). To stay competitive, one of the toughest challenges Textile and Clothing industry has to cope with is sustainability: this sector, in fact, has to respond to increased quality and productivity demand, cost pressures, and shorter lead time, dealing at the same time with social and ethical issues, and environmental footprint as well, being the second most polluting industry in the world, just behind oil. On the demand side, consumers are changing their habits and increasingly gaining awareness regarding social and environmental impacts of fashion growth. Sustainability is thus becoming one of consumer’s fundamental drivers in purchasing decisions: the conscious consumer is well acquainted with the negative externalities of the fashion industry and, if a brand appears related to any of these, it will be always more frequently neglected. A Nielsen survey reveals that, in 2015, 66% of the 30,000-plus respondents were willing to pay extra for sustainable goods; millennials, for their part, are the first generation willing consciously to spend more for better quality, sustainability, and traceability.
“The push for sustainability is a common thread across the fashion industry. More than 65% of emerging market consumers actively seek sustainable fashion versus 32% or less in mature markets” McKinsey
Green, conscious, eco, ethical and sustainable fashion are some of the manifold terms indicating attention to working conditions, human being exploitation, animal welfare, loss of biodiversity, corruption, fair trade, waste control, and many more aspects seen as foundational for economic-social-environmental sustainability within the whole fashion ecosystem. When it comes to the environment, the path towards sustainability in the fashion industry relies on materials having minimal environmental impact, renewable energy, and greener dyes and processes, which could take advantage of local production activities able to minimize the mobility of goods and the associated pollution. The sustainability journey contemplates also social principles, which take into account workers' conditions, avoid child and underpaid labor, create opportunities for unemployed and weak categories, and invest with a long term vision on labor in developing countries. Taking a bird's-eye-view, the sustainability journey in the fashion industry is a matter of raw material procurement, weaving, designing, producing, finishing and shipping clothes, but also of consuming them in a smarter way. Given that fashion value chains appear complex and often very long, it becomes difficult for brands to monitor and control all the steps. Traceability, transparency and global supply chain visibility can ensure identification of apparel companies whose products are made through green and sustainable processes, based on ethical business practices and procurement decisions, such as resorting to labor and materials acquired on a proximity basis. Looking at promising trends, the circularity of the value chain has what it takes to accelerate the waste reduction: new technologies and industrial processes are being developed by companies to recycle textile fibers while reuse, repair and remix models extend garments lifecycle. Along these lines, hyper-consumerism driven by high-speed, high-volume 'fast fashion' trading can be hindered by closet sharing initiatives, collaborative consumption and swap mechanisms in line with sharing economy’s principles. Supported by global ambitious endeavors – such as the recently-established Circular Fibres Initiative launched by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation – this circular movement intends to re-think the textile workflow, making it restorative and regenerative by design while keeping products, components, and materials at their highest utility and value at all times. Embracing all these principles, TCBL unleashes new creative energies and provides concrete business services to European small and micro-enterprises, making available an unprecedented experimentation playground that intends to significantly improve the prosperity of Europe’s diffused system of production.
Jointly realized by Innovation Development Area and Front-End, Marketing and Communications Function of Istituto Superiore Mario Boella, an applied research center specialized in high impact innovation based on ICTs. www.ismb.it
