The clothing industry produces more than 2.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases each year, more than the entire economies of France, Germany and the UK combined. Scary figures, right? However, there are technologies that can play an important role in solving the fashion waste problem. We propose to talk about 3D printing?
Clothing design
The use of 3D technology in the design process can significantly reduce environmental pollution at the initial stage of garment design. In the traditional garment design process, an average of four to five physical samples are created before a brand approves the desired product. Because these samples are semi-finished or inaccurate, they are usually incinerated or taken to landfill at the end. Unlike the labour-intensive and environmentally damaging sampling process, 3D garment prototyping eliminates sample waste at the pre-production stage. All edits and changes can be carried out virtually, without cutting fabric or generating waste.
Fabric sampling
It is difficult to calculate the amount of fabric wasted at the material sourcing stage because garment companies do not record the amount of waste for fear of criticism, which indirectly proves that the amount of wasted samples is huge.
Thanks to the development of digital materials, 3D technology in the garment industry makes it possible for fabric and material suppliers to present samples digitally and reduce material waste.
Selling products
Digital clothing technology means shorter time to market and faster garment development, giving designers more time to work on optimising style. Photorealistic 3D images of garments instead of their traditional counterparts is more than just a money-saver for brands, who don’t have to take photos. With 3D digital body modelling, shoppers can virtually try the digital garment on their own silhouette to see if it fits the garment. 3D clothing technology is effectively transforming the current model of clothing sales from a production-sales process to an ‘on-demand’ process, where consumers browse virtual 3D clothing online, place orders and pre-pay, and then brands organise production according to the size of the order.
Perhaps this is the future of fashion?
Source: Medium.com