Digital product development aids sustainability in fashion

As technology begins to be adapted to help the fashion industry in its sustainability journey, more organisations are scaling digital product developments.

Laura Rainier, senior director analyst at Gartner said digital product development isn’t new but has seen some resistance from the fashion industry due to the creativity and physicality of the industry.

“During the pandemic, we saw broad adoption of these tools and they’re exciting for sustainability. When we use digital sampling, for example, certainly it reduces waste. You're not making as many samples, you're not shipping as many samples back and forth,” she said.

The more interesting opportunity from a sustainability and business perspective, Rainier said is that digital product development shortens the production calendar.

“Often it can cut it in half and this enables supply chain planners to forecast more accurately, they're closer to the point of sale, and ultimately can have a big impact on reducing overproduction,” she said.

The industry is tackling visibility when it comes to transparency within its supply chain. Rainier said brands are creating more robust due diligence processes, and interesting programs that begin to address some of the root causes of challenges in the supply chain.

“Certainly, it does remain quite difficult for most organisations within better buying organisations to be able to trace their products all the way to the source, there are technology solutions that are emerging, including blockchain focused solutions that are beginning to address some of these challenges,” she said.

The industry has something called a better buying initiative, according to Rainier.

“What they've done is identified how fashion brands and buyers are potentially contributing to issues potentially labour work rights and worker rights issues at the factories that they're purchasing from.

“They outlined a number of solutions looking at how brands and retailers can improve their purchasing practices in order to really be better partners, further upstream suppliers, and ultimately improve the outcomes that they as buyers are trying to drive,” she said.