Today’s textile and clothing sector is essentially on a fast track, where mass-production has led to overproduction, and where unthinkable quantities of unsold garments are discarded every day. Yet the industry is also ready to deploy emerging technologies to build, and more importantly, maintain a more sustainable workflow, according to a new white paper published on just-style.
The report by EFI Optitex – ‘Green is the new black’ – says the global apparel industry accounts for 10% of global carbon emissions, making it one of the largest industrial polluters.
An average of US$6bn-$8bn is spent on creating physical samples in the apparel industry every year alone, which generally constitutes as pure waste, while the volume of various elements required to make a custom suit or dressing gown is “almost unimaginable.”
Hundreds of tonnes of garments are manufactured every day while nearly the same amount of raw materials, including fabrics, dyes and threads, are cast-off and thrown away.
Yet, the revelation of what EFI Optitex calls these “catastrophic numbers” has led brands, retailers, manufacturers, and additional stakeholders across the supply chain in search of a better, greener way to live.
But while technological innovations available today can assist in optimising the production process and prevent textile waste on a massive scale, change must start from within the industry itself, starting with accountability across the entire supply chain. The white paper looks at how digital innovation can empower sustainable workflows.

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By GlobalDataTo find out more, click on the following link to download a copy of the free white paper: ‘Green is the new black‘.