A recent Reimagining Textile Waste conference in New Delhi, India hosted by Laudes Foundation, IDH, Canopy, and Reverse Resources focused on developing the country's roadmap to circularity by launching a next-generation solutions hub, sharing findings from the two-year Sorting for Circularity India project and releasing a toolkit designed to revalidate textile waste in India

The conference also launched the Re-START Alliance (Recover by Sourcing, Tracing, and Advancing Recycling Technologies), a textile recovery alliance established by Fashion for Good, Laudes Foundation, IDH and Canopy.

The alliance aims to scale a formal textile waste supply chain, systems, infrastructure, stronger policy intervention, and industry appetite to enable technology commercialisation and will launch officially in Q1 2024.

Canopy's executive director Nicole Rycroft believes India is well positioned to become a global leader in low-carbon Next Gen textile production.

She said: "Canopy is thrilled to be part of this new collaboration to help India realise that potential. With India’s abundance of textile waste, innovative industry leaders, and the collective buying power of our global network of brands, together we can transform unsustainable supply chains, reduce emissions, and create economic opportunities across India."

Sorting for Circularity India Project's journey

The two-year Sorting for Circularity India Project launched by Fashion for Good in 2021 aimed to "streamline, strengthen and foster" the Indian textile waste market and build a more circular economy.

Fashion for Good said the project has provided invaluable insights and it has unveiled a toolkit from it that is designed to "harness the untapped potential" of textile waste in India.

Fashion for Good believes that its resources will provide valuable insights, assessments, and practical guidance to advance recycling in India's textile industry.

Fashion for Good's managing director Katrin Ley said: "The Sorting for Circularity India toolkit is a milestone in our journey towards a waste-free world. We have mapped the textile waste landscape, unpacking the huge potential, as well as the roadblocks and commercial opportunities in India’s textile waste industry. We are excited to move beyond rhetoric with this powerful coalition of partners and translate our findings into a roadmap for concrete actions."

How to use the Sorting for Circularity India toolkit

The Fashion for Good Sorting for Circularity India toolkit is described as an action plan for anyone looking to understand or exploit the opportunity in textile waste.

The Toolkit for organising textile waste in India details the project framework, insights from the pilot, study and data along with guidance on how to use the toolkit.

• For an individual or business with an interest in waste, the toolkit lays out the blueprint for setting up infrastructure for textile waste in India and provides an encompassing study of the challenges, limitations and opportunities that have emerged from the Sorting for Circularity project, and how they need to be capitalised on in order to valorise the potential of India’s textile waste
• For policy and development organisations, this toolkit is a 360-degree view on the current gaps that are currently hampering the development of a circular textile waste landscape in India. While the opportunities are vast, the toolkit helps establish areas in need of support and aims to serve as a driving force towards creating and encouraging frameworks to establish India as a leader in textile waste management and valorisation.

India's post-consumer textile waste landscape

According to Fashion for Good’s Wealth in Waste report, every year, 1,720 KTons of 100% cotton post-consumer domestic (PCD) textile waste remains unvalorised in India due to the lack of proper collection and sorting systems.

The initiative remarked that with the upcoming surge of legislation on textile waste management, the value of post-consumer waste is expected to rise, making it crucial for India to focus on PCD waste and develop necessary infrastructure for collection, sorting, and pre-processing.

In the context of the Sorting for Circularity India Project 'Post-consumer Pilot Program', Fashion for Good noted that several pilots were carried out with its innovators along with assessment of the commercial viability of sorting hubs using these sorting technologies.

Fashion for Good shared the pilot worked with 33 tons of textile waste, exploring innovative sorting technologies, the nuances of post-consumer waste, and the potential for a closed-loop system in India’s textile industry.

On the other hand, the business case assessment delved into infrastructure and investment requirements, examined potential financial success scenarios, and identified roadblocks.

This served as a framework to enable well-informed decision-making for sorting hubs to implement these technologies, added Fashion for Good.

Laudes India managing director Anita Chester remarked: "This incredibly strategic collaboration between three of our partners will be a game-changer in that it brings together three critical ingredients needed to scale the adoption of next-generation fashion materials globally – textile waste as the feedstock, the market in terms of brand commitments, and sizable investments. All of which India is abundant in, making the region ripe with potential."

In June, the Sorting for Circularity USA consortium project, initiated by Fashion for Good and Resource Recycling Systems, announced the addition of new partners and an expansion of its geographical scope in North America.

Protokol said that compiling its own business insights and a variety of data points, showed a 60% increase in inbound enquiries around DPPs for its own business, as well as a 413% increase in news articles mentioning DPPs in 2023 vs 2022.

The company believes this corresponds with the projection that the circular economy market which was roughly worth $399bn in 2022, is forecast to more than double by the next three years or 2026.

In fact, Protokol pointed out that wider data and industry news highlight a "particularly strong" move from the textiles sector, despite the DPPs deadline being seven years away.

Major fashion apparel players such as Pangaia which announced a collaborative Digital Passport-enabled resale initiative, Nobody’s Child which launched DPPs through the introduction of unique QR codes and Alpine Group which partnered on supply chain transparency with DPP are already incorporating DPP in their value chains.

This comes at a time when traceability is leading the way in apparel company filings, as suggested by data shared by GlobalData. Traceability was the most-used keyword in the apparel industry over the last five years (from September 2019 to 2023).

GlobalData apparel analyst Pippa Stephens told Just Style at that time, she expects that more retailers and brands will start significant investments in this space to give shoppers greater confidence in their products and become more competitive.

Lars Rensing, CEO of Protokol, remarked that it is no surprise organisations of all sizes are starting to prepare now.

Rensing continued: "The time to act on upcoming regulations is now. Businesses which are already assigning research, taking the time to understand the regulation and researching products and providers will be the best placed to ensure a smooth transition. Beyond regulatory concerns, DPPs also make business sense. Consumer awareness of the impact that the fashion industry has on the climate crisis is at an all-time high, and the textiles industry is notoriously one of the most wasteful industries in the world."

He is of the view that DPPs offer textiles businesses an opportunity to turn over a leaf, by creating a transparent and trustworthy way in which they could demonstrate their sustainable credentials to an increasingly conscious customer base.

Digital Product Passport or DPP is a tool for collecting and sharing product data to illustrate a product's sustainability, environmental and recyclability attributes.

It is a key component of the EU's proposed legislation aimed at lowering the environmental footprint of the fashion sector and ensuring longer lifespans and better-informed consumers.

Alongside this, Protokol noted that the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), announced in March last year, will introduce DPPs for all of its mandated products over the coming years.

According to Protokol, businesses looking to stay ahead of the trend have caused an uptick in requests from potential customers seeking information about what the ESPR regulation means for them and how best to implement DPPs in their business

However, the company added that one of the sectors feeling the pressure most intensely is the textiles industry for which Digital Product Passports will be mandatory by 2030.

For the third quarter ended 28 October 2023, the company reported a 4% decrease in net sales to $1.27bn compared to net sales of $1.32bn in the previous year.

The total sales in stores (North America) and International market were lower 11% and 2.4% respectively when compared to the previous year, however, direct to customer sales increased 11.9%.

The operating loss was $67.12m as opposed to last year's operating income of $43m.

Last year the retailer turned a $22.2m profit in the third quarter.

The results were in line with expectations assured Martin Waters, chief executive officer at VS&Co, adding that the retailer is encouraged by the improving sales trend as it transitions into the "all-important" holiday season.

Waters said that with the long-term health of the business in mind, VS&Co remains committed to its strategic priorities which include, accelerating core, igniting growth and transforming the foundation.

He continued: "At our Investor Day in October, we discussed our key focus on accelerating our core, and our initiatives designed to leverage our market leadership position and unlock our opportunity to convert our significant cultural influence into long-term financial growth. We believe our evolving strategies will position the business to deliver the potential of our category-defining Victoria’s Secret and PINK brands, and I believe we have the right leadership team in place at the right time for our business to be successful. We remain confident in our brand repositioning efforts and are committed to delivering our long-term financial targets and returning value to our shareholders."

The Company is forecasting fourth quarter 2023 net sales to increase in the range of 2% to 4% however, it expects the full year 2023 net sales to decrease in the range of 2% to 3% compared to last year.

In the last quarter, Victoria’s Secret & Co lowered its Q3 sales outlook and expected loss for the period after swinging to a loss during the second quarter (Q2) on lower sales.

The 2023 edition of GFA Monitor report published by Denmark-based non-profit Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) is aimed at guiding fashion leaders towards a net-positive fashion industry.

The GFA Monitor is an extensive resource presenting expert insights into the status of the industry, clear actions to take towards net-zero and proven best practice.

The 2023 publication presents new findings from the Fashion Industry Target Consultation (FITC), launched by GFA and the United Nations Environment Programme in November 2022.

GFA invited stakeholders from across the global value chain to share their thoughts on the performance indicators and milestones that the industry must strive to meet.
Overall, FITC data revealed that the majority of the 900 participants supported industry alignment on the 27 action areas proposed in the consultation and remarked that they are actively engaging with the industry to drive progress in the respective areas.

Highlights from the Fashion Industry Target Consultation

Respectful and Secure Work Environments
Of those that responded to questions related to this priority:

• The highest percentage (88%) of brand respondents claimed to have set targets to adopt responsible purchasing practices - yet only 63% of brands claimed to be measuring progress against these set targets. 100% of brands and producers unanimously expressed support for reaching alignment on this action area and engaging with the industry to collectively drive progress.
• Fewest brands (58%) claimed to have set targets on worker access to effective grievance mechanisms whilst producers reported their lowest score on value chain transparency (75%)

Better Wage Systems

Of those that responded to questions related to this priority:

• The highest percentage of brands and producers (86%) claim to have set targets to implement fair compensation and living wage across the textile value chain
• Yet the lowest percentage of brands and producers are setting targets on freedom of association or collective bargaining (33% brands/ 67% producers/ manufacturers) and closing the gender pay gap (33% brands/ 86% producers/ manufacturers) - both key enablers towards reaching fair compensation and living wage

Resource Stewardship

Of those that responded to questions related to this priority:

• Highest claims of target setting were related to decarbonisation/ GHG emission reduction (88% brands/ 89% producers/ manufacturers) and elimination of hazardous chemicals (86% brands/ 100% producers/ manufacturers)
• Lowest number of targets reported to be set towards eliminating microfibre pollution (36% brands/ 63% producers/ manufacturers) also reflected in the percentage of those measuring and reporting progress (33% brands/ 63% producers/ manufacturers)

Smart Material Choices

Of those who responded to questions related to this priority:

• A significantly high number of respondents claimed to have set targets to produce and source priority materials from preferred and low climate impact sources (96% brands/ 100% producers/ manufacturers)
• Brands are setting most of their preferred material targets on cotton (92%) while producers on polyester (90%)

Circular Systems

Of those that responded to questions related to this priority:

• Target setting in the Circular Systems field is very fragmented with many targets self-defined, lacking comparability with peers, and inconsistent ambition levels. However, FITC shows a surprisingly high percentage of brands and producers setting targets in this space even on complex topics like absolute virgin resource use reduction (74% of brands and 89% of producers) and overproduction (78% of brands and 77% of producers)
• The lowest target-setting results were related to eradicating messages encouraging unnecessary consumption (46% brands/ 53% producers/ manufacturers) and measuring the actual impact on job quality and availability from circular business models to support a just transition to a circular economy (29% brands/ 73% producers/ manufacturers)

Federica Marchionni, CEO of Global Fashion Agenda, said: "The timeframe for averting the worst climate impacts is rapidly narrowing. Solutions must be deployed and put into action faster. Currently, significant gaps persist between ambition and concrete action in addressing social and environmental priorities.

"On the climate front, IPCC’s latest report gave a stark final warning to the world to limit global temperature increases in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement and transition to net-zero or near-zero emissions. Unless significant changes are made to the way we source and consume energy, especially in production regions, the industry will fall short of the decarbonisation targets necessary to align with
the 1.5°C pathway."

She emphasised that to achieve a net-positive industry, it is imperative that fashion moves from ambition to taking holistic action that is inclusive and equitable, ensuring that the neutral environment is restored, and that no one is left behind.

Next steps for industry stakeholders

According to GFA, the industry should take the following actions to effectively ensure a just transition from linear to circular practices for all actors across the global garment value chain:

• Sourcing and Standards - Sourcing all animal fibres and materials from certified sources with certifications covering animal welfare, land management and social requirements, wherever possible. Prioritising sourcing and producing all sheep wool from preferred sources, with an increasing amount derived from certified recycled or regenerative raw materials.
• Circular Design Principles - Designing and manufacturing all products for the circular economy, to be used for longer, made to be remade and made from safe and recycled or renewable inputs, in line with Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s vision of a circular economy.
• Eliminate Waste and Address Overproduction - Optimising designs to eliminate waste during the production and manufacturing stage where possible. Developing a strategy to reduce surplus stock that is unsold, sold at a discount, resold or destroyed, and carry out due diligence.
• Performance Indicators, User Incentives and Revenue - Optimising performance indicators for sustainability performance and integrate them across all business activities. Driving increased revenue share from circular business models, generating revenue without making new clothes. Rethinking incentives to reward customers who engage in circular business models.
• Build Supply Networks - Engaging actors across the value chain to enable circulation of products both locally and globally, leveraging digital technologies to track and optimise product streams and materials along with collaborating with regional and national policy changemakers.
• Waste Stream Mapping - Digitally mapping post-industrial and post-use waste streams to support building of feedstock networks to meet textile recyclers’ demands in terms of price, quality and safety standards. Leveraging collected data to inform the public sector and help focus subsidies and drive necessary policy reform.
• Protective Planning and Measurement - Developing a deep, holistic understanding of how circular business models and automation impacts workers along the value chain as well as integrating a roadmap within a broader company strategy. Measuring and disclosing disaggregated information about the influence of circular business models on job quality and job availability.
• Training and Upskilling - Proactively planning for emerging skill gaps along with investing in training in areas such as technological, digital and soft skills with particular focus on vulnerable, marginalised and informal groups, equipping workers with the necessary transferable skills.

COP28 and fashion industry's progress towards net positive

GFA believes this report comes at a time when COP28 will provide a "critical moment" to take stock globally, with the company and its partners presenting the fashion industry's progress towards net positive and providing guidance on how to accelerate actions on its pathway.

Building on its alliance with the UN Climate Change, GFA will host a session on 5 December, dedicated to the fashion sector at COP28 to ensure fashion is included in the crucial conversations and decisions intended to accelerate climate action.

Marchionni added: "The second iteration of The GFA Monitor reaffirms the power of alliances to accelerate action. In a time of socioeconomic and geopolitical turmoil, executives need clear guidance more than ever to ensure sustainability measures can continue to move forward. By working collectively with multiple industry organisations, we were able to highlight the steps that are needed, collate a wealth of promising solutions and steer fashion stakeholders on their journey."

In September, Global Fashion Agenda called for “systemic change” as it launched the new Fashion Sector Vision report with recommendations for the next seven years.

Mango will be investing through its StartUp Studio and providing financial support to Ziknes through a convertible participation loan.

The fashion retailer said this represents the entry of Ziknes in an acceleration programme through which entrepreneurs will learn at first-hand how Mango operates and be able to scale up their business model.

In addition, Ziknes team will receive advice and mentoring sessions from the company's experts in areas such as product design, specifically furniture design.

Ziknes was founded in 2021 and believes in "revolutionising manufacturing" by bringing together 3D printing and robotics, in order to improve efficiency, flexibility and sustainability in production. The start-up said it is committed to the use of low-energy technologies that focus on minimising material waste.

Mango StartUp Studio shared this is the fifth investment made since its launch in 2022.

To date, it has invested in companies such as the sustainability start-up specialising in the resale of textile waste, Recovo, and the technology start-up Union Avatars, a platform for digital identity and the development of avatars in different styles, among other start-ups.

Recently, Mango shared its expansion plans for the UK and Ireland with new store openings lined up in Manchester's Trafford Centre and Cork's St. Patrick's street.

Both the new UK Trafford centre store and Ireland Cork store feature Mango’s New Mediterranean-inspired store concept, aimed to reflect the spirit and freshness of the brand.

Mango envisages 13 store openings during 2023, mainly in the south and centre of the UK.

The Spanish retailer also launched its own conversational generative AI platform called Lisa to help employees improve the development of its collections and its after-sales service as part of a wider digital transformation strategy.

Puma ran a two-year-long RE:SUEDE experiment during which it piloted turning the experimental version of its classic suede sneaker into compost.

The brand said it produced 500 pairs of the experimental RE:SUEDE in 2021, which were made using Zeology tanned suede, a TPE outsole and hemp fibers. As the next step, these shoes were given to volunteers in Germany who wore them for six months to test their comfort and durability.

After the testing phase, Puma sent the RE:SUEDEs to a specifically equipped industrial composting area in the Netherlands operated by its partner, Ortessa Group.

According to Puma, a special procedure was required to convert the shoes into compost. The process involved shredding the shoes, mixing with green household waste, and placing it in a composting tunnel. They were then sprayed with leaching-water from earlier composting that contains nutrients and naturally heated due to the biological activity and controlled air circulation in the tunnel.

Puma explained that after approximately 3.5 months, the materials that were small enough (<10mm) to pass through a sieve were sold as Grade A compost for agricultural use, in compliance with the Netherlands' standards.

While the remaining materials were returned to the composting tunnel until they too had broken down to the desired level (<10mm). Throughout this process, Puma noted that Ortessa Group adhered to all legal requirements for compost applicable at their facilities in the Netherlands.

As a result of the feedback received from the people who wore the RE:SUEDE for half a year, Puma said it will improve the comfort of future versions of the shoes by enhancing the overall fit by using a new material pattern for the upper and the sock liner.

Additionally, the brand mentioned transparency as another important pillar of the RE:SUEDE experiment, as Puma said it will share insights in a detailed report so its peers and other interested stakeholders can learn from the experiment and apply the learnings to their own initiatives.

Anne-Laure Descours, chief sourcing officer at Puma, said: "While the RE:SUEDE could not be processed under the standard operating procedures for industrial composting, the shoes did eventually turn into compost. We will continue to innovate with our partners to determine the infrastructure and technologies needed to make the process viable for a commercial version of the RE:SUEDE, including a takeback scheme, in 2024."

RE:SUEDE experiment was the first programme, together with the polyester recycling programme RE:FIBRE, to launch as part of Puma's Circular Lab.

Earlier in May, Puma claimed that it made seven out off ten products from "better materials" last year as it further scaled up its use of recycled materials.

Since 2017, the company has been able to reduce CO2 emissions from materials by 32%. However, Puma believes the overall CO2 emissions can be reduced by a further 7%, despite significant growth in sales.

Sports brand leads patents for 'biodegradable' (November 2018 to November 2023)

Data shared by GlobalData shows that the American athletic footwear and apparel brand Nike is at the top of the charts for patents related to 'biodegradable' with a total of 170 publications. Followed by the shoe insole manufacturer O2 Partners LLC with total 25 publications.

This list also includes the conglomerate Artemis SA, Gap Inc and VF Corp.

The apparel industry is increasingly focusing on the use of materials that are sustainable and help make the industry more circular. Brands and retailers are either collaborating and investing in the development of eco-friendly fibres and materials or starting to think about the end-of-life of products.

Recently, material science company Recover has collaborated with denim manufacturer Evlox and Spanish tech company Jeanologia to showcase its new recycled denim capsule collection.

Trumpler, a leather chemical provider for the tanning industry, partnered with speciality chemicals company, Archroma to introduce “DyTan”, a new eco-friendly, cost-effective leather production process.

In fact, sustainable bio-material producer TômTex closed a seed round of $2.25m led by founder Uyen Tran and key investors to solidify the start up’s position in the circular bio-material sector with $4.15m raised to date.

These examples are proof that the fashion apparel industry is not far behind in keeping up with its words to make the industry more sustainable and circular.

Our signals coverage is powered by GlobalData’s Thematic Engine, which tags millions of data items across six alternative datasets — patents, jobs, deals, company filings, social media mentions and news — to themes, sectors and companies. These signals enhance our predictive capabilities, helping us to identify the most disruptive threats across each of the sectors we cover and the companies best placed to succeed.

For the three months ended 31 October 2023, total retail segment net sales at Urban Outfitters Inc rose 7.3%, with comparable retail segment net sales rising 5.6%.

The company says this increase in retail segment comparable net sales was driven by high single-digit positive growth in digital channel sales and mid single-digit positive growth in retail store sales.

Speaking on a call with investors as the results were announced, Frank Conforti, co-president/COO at Urban Outfitters Inc, highlighted that the increase in comparable retail sales was driven by high-single-digit growth in the direct-to-consumer channel and mid-single-digit comps in stores, with sales increasing in both channels as a result of higher traffic and increased average unit retail price.

Comparable net retail segment sales for Q3 2024 increased at all of Urban Outfitters Inc's brands in comparison to the same period last year, except for Urban Outfitters. Net sales increased 22.5% at Free People and 13.2% at Anthropologie. Net sales decreased 14.2% at Urban Outfitters.

Conforti said that the record third quarter revenue from the rest of the group's brands "more than offset" the negative trend at the Urban Outfitters brand.

Income from operations at the group increased from $57.3m in Q3 2022 to $109m in Q3 2023, while net income increased from $37.2m up to $83m in the same period.

In a statement, Richard A Hayne, CEO at Urban Outfitters Inc, pointed out that the "record" third quarter sales helped drive a 120% increase in EPS.

Hayne said: "As we enter the holiday season the consumer continues to react positively to our assortments and marketing campaigns at four out of five of our brands which leaves us confident we can continue to drive revenue and earnings growth in the fourth quarter."

Key results from Urban Outfitters Q3:

• Total net sales for company increase to 9.0% to a record $1.28bn
• Total retail segment sales increased 7.3%
• Urban Outfitters sees 14.2% decrease in net sales, as other group retail brands see significant sales increase

Net sales at rental and resale marketplace Nuuly increased by $30.2m compared to Q3 2022, which Urban Outfitters attributed to a 68% increase in the number of subscribers compared to the same period in 2022. The platform is now said to have a total of 198,000 active subscribers. In

Q3 2023, Nuuly generated $65.5m in revenue for the company. On the call with investors, CEO Hayne said there "is much to be excited about" in the future of the platform.

Hayne also noted on the call that he and the brand teams are excited at the potential for generative AI to augment and enhance Urban Outfitters Inc's already "superb" creative capabilities.

Hayne also claimed that data science and AI have the potential to deliver much shorter product lead times, more accurate demand forecasts, better allocations, more personalised marketing and optimised inventory planning for the Urban Outfitters group, among other benefits.

Additionally, the company shared that during the nine months ended 31 October 2023, it opened a total of 21 new retail locations, and closed ten.

Last year, Urban Outfitters Inc reported positive Q2 results noting that pre-Covid supply chain conditions had returned.

Following the complete acquisition on 27 November 2023 Silver Crystal Group has become a part of the apparel solutions business within the solutions group of Avery Dennison, which is said to significantly expand its Embelex portfolio.

The Emblex portfolio is a comprehensive end-to-end platform for on-product branding, graphics, and trims.

In October, when Avery Dennison announced the acquisition, it said this was a strategic move aimed to leverage the combined industry expertise, quality, and service capabilities of both Avery Dennison and Silver Crystal Group.

At the time, Michael Barton the senior vice president and general manager of apparel solutions at Avery Dennison, said: "Together, I am confident we will create a force that will continue to develop the embellishment category and deliver for key customers and stakeholders every step of the way."

The Silver Crystal Group has customised jerseys and apparel for professional sports organisations for over 25 years. Its clientele includes teams from popular leagues such as the US organisation responsible for professional basketball, the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Avery Dennison introduced Digital Product Passports as a Service (DPPaaS) to help brands prepare for European Union Digital Product Passport legislation last month (October).

The company said DPPaaS sits within its digital solutions portfolio to bridge the physical and digital worlds through its intelligent labelling and atma.io connected product cloud platform.

The Very Group will launch a new Gen AI Innovation Lab powered by generative AI, machine learning, and storage capabilities to deliver interactive and personalised digital shopping experiences to millions of customers.

The company explained the Gen AI Innovation Lab will trial new generative AI-powered retail solutions to revolutionise how customers shop on its ecommerce platform, combining advanced cloud and generative AI capabilities with Very’s retailing experience and insights.

Very believes this will help create new products and immersive ecommerce offerings that will power more relevant, timely and personalised experiences for its customers, and enable better decisions at scale for its colleagues.

This collaboration will include Very engineers and data teams coming together to work closely with experienced specialist teams from the newly launched $100m AWS Generative AI Innovation Centre to leverage AWS generative AI capabilities through Amazon Bedrock, noted Very.

Very highlighted that AI experts will help the company securely use generative AI at scale, navigate technical challenges, and roll out new experiences for customers more quickly and with less heavy lifting.

Matt Grest, CIO at The Very Group, said: "We want to be recognised as one of the UK’s leading AI-powered retailers. To keep our customers satisfied and transform our business operations, we've chosen to build on our existing strategic relationship with AWS and incubate new generative AI-powered products with a trusted collaborator and innovator who understands how we work with data at scale."

The Very Group added it has already successfully implemented AI to enhance its business operations. The company said it uses AI to forecast product demand and plan inventory, which led to better product availability and enhanced customer satisfaction.

Very is of the view that this collaboration with AWS is a significant step forward in its use of AI to enhance the retail customer experience.

Generative AI: the new rage between fashion apparel companies

Generative AI is a type of foundational AI technology that uses machine learning algorithms to create content, including text, images, audio, video, speech, design, and software code.

According to GlobalData it is the fastest growing of the five advanced AI technologies and is receiving the most attention in recent times.

GlobalData's apparel company fillings data shows the fashion industry is tapping into this technology as the keyword 'Generative AI' is a leading theme in 2023 with 145 mentions. This is closely followed by 'AI' which is mentioned 116 times and 'Amazon Web Services (AWB)' has 24 mentions.

The Very Group isn't the only apparel company taking advantage of Generative AI's benefits. Spanish retailer Mango, for example, launched its own conversational generative AI platform called Lisa last month (October).

Mango said the platform uses different models, both private and open-source, and is trained specifically for the company to help employees improve the development of its collections and its after-sales service as part of a wider digital transformation strategy.

Recently, OMMAX's VP of data science and data engineering, Dr Hardy Kremer, shared that introducing Generative AI into inventory management systems is the next step for fashion retailers wishing to solve inventory problems.

Our signals coverage is powered by GlobalData’s Thematic Engine, which tags millions of data items across six alternative datasets — patents, jobs, deals, company filings, social media mentions and news — to themes, sectors and companies. These signals enhance our predictive capabilities, helping us to identify the most disruptive threats across each of the sectors we cover and the companies best placed to succeed.

The intersection of technology and sustainability has sparked a revolution. We are all too familiar with the challenges facing the fashion industry, like excessive stock, overconsumption, and unsustainable production practices.

However, a new wave of digital fashion is showing promise in addressing these issues and leading the way towards a more sustainable future.

A recent panel discussion held at the Digital Fashion Summit hosted by New Codes in London set the stage for exploring how digital fashion can go hand-in-hand with sustainability.

Digital fashion's eco potential

Louise Laing, founder of the disruptive eco-fashion marketplace PhygitalTwin, shares that using digital garments for producing physical fashion on-demand is a sustainable option with zero waste creation. Her idea was born after she stumbled upon an article posing the question, "Can digital fashion be our eco-saviour?"

Although, she is quick to point that digital fashion on its own cannot be a knight in shining armour. She adds: "It can help. But if fashion brands don't stop overconsumption, and start reacting to the customer trends then we are still in the same cycle."

She mentions how a few companies have become "digital only" but this does not change the cycle of sustainability.

Laing explains how the industry can use digital fashion as a touchpoint for several different interactions. First and foremost, she says the digital asset can be used to test the market to see if it is going to sell before a collection is launched. This, she says, can also be done by using the garments as digital assets to turn into a wearable for gaming.

"We can interact in these virtual worlds and see if people like what we are wearing. I mean, ten million children change their garments in Roblox every day. We can turn this digital asset into a way to test the market, like try before you buy? Which reduces returns by 35% and increases conversion by 250%," adds Laing.

The main concern in the midst of everything is the associated cost with digital fashion, remarks Laing. A plausible solution to this she believes is building "unique technology" that is more automated.

From digital to physical: realising sustainability

Jessica Evans, a digital fashion designer and founder of Isadoska, emphasises the need to consider the environmental impact of digital technologies. She calls it an "invisible problem and an easy one to forget about."

She explains that she undertook a project to measure the amount of energy used during the production of digital fashion and how long it would take to offset that amount of carbon.

According to Evans, stats like this are important. She says: "Understanding what that impact is, and how we work with these new digital solutions is really important. Especially, if we are going to have lots of seamless integration and lots of new types of technologies coming up, understanding these invisible impacts is something that companies need to consider how to offset, or use renewable energy, or look at different solutions for that."

It all comes down to thinking about it and asking those questions sooner rather than later, she says.

However, Laing believes digital fashion technologies can be used to be more sustainable. But she adds that unless the supply chain is sorted and made efficient, such as with the production of garments on demand, we will still face the same issues that exist and have existed within the fashion industry.

In fact, she says: "What's really, really important for me when we talk about sustainability is the ability to react to consumer demands in real time. Because the future is the customer, the customer is a new creator. And I think if brands don't change the way that they act in their supply chain they will be left behind."

Visualising the carbon impact

Evans is of the view that visualisation is a really important aspect. It comes down to numbers and data she says, and they are the "backbone" of the fashion industry.

She explains: "If we can take those numbers and actually make it tangible you know, if I say okay, it's created 100,000 tonnes of carbon, I have no idea what that looks like. That is incredibly hard to visualise for anybody. If you can say that spending an hour on software relates to the same amount of carbon that would have a volume of a bag of flour, that's slightly more tangible."

Evans has created an app that integrates immersive technologies like AR to visualise the carbon impact of digital fashion. Her AR app engages users, providing a visual narrative of carbon footprints and encouraging brands to proactively address their environmental impact.

Her idea is to raise awareness among consumers and inform brands so that they potentially reach out to carbon experts and those working within sustainability and understand how to mitigate their carbon footprint in the supply chain. Evans says just having this conversation around visualisation is a key starting point.

Revolutionising fashion for tangible change

It seems the fashion industry is on the brink of a revolutionary transformation with digital fashion being touted as not just a virtual trend but catalyst for tangible change.

By addressing the environmental impact, automating processes, visualising carbon footprints, and embracing circularity, the fashion industry has the potential to emerge as a leader in sustainability. This intersection of technology, nature, and consumer engagement is paving the way for a future where fashion doesn't just adorn bodies but contributes positively to the planet.

As Laing aptly puts it: "The future is the customer, the customer is the new creator." The journey has begun, and the destination is a sustainable and stylish tomorrow.