What Are 3 Challenges to Grow in Fashion Dising
By Jenny Egnér Lin
What are the main challenges and opportunities for professionals in the fashion industry today? Mode students must be prepared for a changing global economic system, shifts in consumer preferences, and rapid technological advancement. Behind the glamourous surface of the fashion industry, there is a dark side of pollution, labor exploitation, and an excessive use of resources. These are some of the principal challenges of the fashion industry today, and inherent in them, likewise the main opportunities.
Sustainability
Although it's hardly news that way is the second nearly polluting manufacture on the planet, sustainability is still the chief challenge that the way manufacture is facing today. Clothing production uses immense natural resource and creates huge amounts of toxic waste released directly into water streams. On the consumption side, the fast style business model has taught consumers to view wearing apparel as fast moving consumer goods, leading to textile ending upwards on landfill afterward just a few wears. Fast manner companies are making enormous profits - on the expense of the environment. We simply cannot continue with business organization every bit usual; we're already creating irreversible damage to our ecosystems.
Production challenges
On the manufacturing side, the production of fabrics for wear is ane of the almost resources intensive industries on the planet. The nearly mutual fabrics used today require unfathomable amounts of natural resources to exist produced. It's hard to imagine that a single cotton t-shirt requires a staggering 2706.57 litres of h2o to be produced. That is the equivalent of 3 years of drinking water for one person, according to WWF.
Whether your cotton wool apparel are organic or not, they still require the same amount of water, leading to drought in areas where cotton is grown. The huge amounts of pesticides used in cotton production is also a wellness hazard for people living in areas of cotton production, causing cancers, skin problems, and damage to brain functions.
Pollution from textile dyeing is another result that has been brought to attending thanks to documentaries such as 'Riverblue' (2016) and 'Stacey Dooley Investigates, Fashion'due south Muddy Secrets' (2018). Poisonous waste from textile dyeing is flushed straight into rivers that locals use for washing, bathing, and water irrigation for food crops.
Photograph accredited to apparelresources.com.
Although in that location is an increasing demand for sustainably produced clothes, this demand is ho-hum to touch change amidst the global clothing giants, who lack the agility to incorporate sustainable production efforts in a widespread way. Thus, pollution and waste matter volition go along without broad-reaching solutions in sight.
Production opportunities
Opportunities incurring, pressed on by the urgency of needing to establish change, are kickoff and foremost new, sustainable concern models, built on the principles of reducing, reusing, and recycling. Many manufacture professionals notable for their work with sustainability call it closing the loop of style.
New materials is some other large opportunity for fashion concern. A search of the almost sustainable fabrics entail that hemp is the most sustainable material followed by linen, due to the relatively lower need of natural resources in production. Alternatives such every bit fabrics made from pineapple scraps and recycled plastic are emerging. The growing demand for sustainable materials and production practices are leading to innovation opportunities in the mode sector.
Consumption challenges
The consumption of fast fashion, by treating clothes as fast moving consumer goods, is another source of waste, creating huge problems for the surround. The manufacture profits from selling large quantities of clothes, that are only worn once or a few times, then discarded. Used clothes are piling upwardly in landfills, or shipped in bulk to developing countries, where nobody wants them.
While some argue that information technology is the responsibility of consumers to brand educated decisions, and that consumers are the ones driving the change, in that location is no doubt that it is near impossible for consumers alone to change the industry, as manufacture professionals hardly know what'south going on further downward the value chain.
Consumption opportunities
A calorie-free at the end of the tunnel is that millennials and younger generations are demanding change regarding sustainability and it shows in their spending habits. The increasing demand for sustainably produced goods has resulted in a marked rise in new and emerging fashion brands that are more sustainable.
Consumer movements for zero waste, reducing, reusing, and recycling appurtenances are growing, and as more than people become aware of the effect of human consumption on the environment, consumers are scrutinising their own consumption patterns, and the value chains of companies.
Labour exploitation
Poor working conditions
An issue with no simple solution in sight, are the poor working conditions of garment workers in developing countries. Fast way companies outsource wearable production to suppliers who based on price, pushing downwardly salaries for workers, and resulting in dangerous and calumniating working conditions. The fall of Rana Plaza in 2013, where over m workers were killed, shed light to the horrible working conditions, and gave ascension to movements such every bit Fashion Revolution Week, where consumers demand to know who made their clothes.
Forced labour
Another outcome, even more hidden than those of poor working weather of outsourced workers, is forced labour. A big component in the manner supply chain, mainly in the 2d and tertiary tier of the supply chain, consists of forced and trafficked labour.
Photograph accredited to World Vision Canada.
New York Times critic's pick documentary, Invisible Hands, directed by journalist Shraysi Tandon, shines a light on the trade of human being beings in manufacturing industries, uncovering the unspoken use of trafficking in way.
"When people think of trafficking they ofttimes associate information technology with the sex trade simply about 50% of trafficked victims, including children, are sold into forced labor. It's taking place in developing countries and parts of Europe where markets and factories go unregulated. The fashion manufacture is unfortunately rife with trafficked workers and forced labor," says Tandon.
"And information technology's not just taking identify in fast fashion brands. Even the more luxury and exclusive brands have been known to have forced labor in their supply chains," she adds. "Well-nigh brands focus on their tier 1 suppliers and manufacturers, only a lot of the work gets subcontracted out to tier 2 and tier iii suppliers. So the people putting on the buttons or putting on the soles to your $500 shoes are often trafficked and invisible."
Applied science
Technological challenges
Fashion is an industry that has fallen behind when information technology comes to engineering science. On the product side, fashion is still on of the most labour and resources intensive industries, with producers seeming to lack interest in automation and apply of technology. The same goes for large fashion retailers. There are some companies specialised in due east-commerce, while large fashion brands seem to still rely on brick-and-mortar stores every bit their main source of sales.
Technological opportunities
On the other mitt, at that place are many opportunities for innovation within the way industry. The creation of new, sustainable materials, equally before mentioned, is one opportunity. Using improve modes of design to create less waste is another.
Automation and using robotics to manufacture clothes is an opportunity that style producers accept not yet managed to implement. While many other industries, such equally the motorcar industry, from an early stage implemented automation to mass-produce appurtenances, the way manufacture is relying on human labour for everything from pattern, to sewing, to sales.
The fashion industry should make utilize of the vast noesis, technology, and all-time practices from other industries, to create a more sustainable clothing industry, that will benefit the longevity of our planet.
About the author: Jenny Egnér Lin is born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden, and holds a B.Sc. in Business and Economics from Stockholm School of Economics and a M.Sc. in Strategic Market Creation from Copenhagen Business School. With firsthand experience from studying in Europe, she is sharing prime insights about life as a student at a European academy.
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