Some experts argue that algorithms can optimize industry supply chains and reduce carbon emissions. As part of The Drum’s fashion and beauty focus, we learned that this may only be half the battle.
The fashion industry is notorious for its negative impact on the environment. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, approximately 85% of all clothing and textile products end up in landfills or incinerators. The World Economic Forum’s 2021 report found that the fashion industry is one of the world’s biggest sources of air pollution, accounting for about 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Meanwhile, the rise of “fast fashion,” with its cheap production and low quality standards designed to keep pace with trends that come and go at the speed of social media, has dramatically reduced the industry’s carbon footprint. It got worse.
As troubling new data about the fashion industry’s carbon footprint mounts, so does the pressure on these companies to change. For example, H&M has now pledged to reduce its emissions by 56% by the end of the decade, and fashion retailer Shein is reportedly aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
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Today, some experts have come to believe that artificial intelligence could help reduce the fashion industry’s carbon footprint.
For example, clothing returns make up a significant portion of the fashion industry’s carbon footprint. Customers shopping online can’t physically try on clothes, so many of those items end up being shipped back to retailers. According to e-commerce site Shopify, about a quarter of clothing purchased online is returned. Holger Halleis, a senior partner at McKinsey & Company and author of the 2023 report on the intersection of AI and fashion, said many shoppers are trying to maintain a proper fit and return other sizes. Explain that you are ordering the same item of clothing in multiple sizes. (Some big-name fashion brands, such as H&M and Zara, are trying to curb these numbers by introducing restocking fees.)
This is one point in the production process where AI can help both brands and customers, Harreis says. “The more we use AI to understand what customers actually want, [the more you] It reduces revenue,” says Harreis. “This also reduces emissions and reduces costs at the same time.”
Adidas, for example, automatically recommends sizes for certain products based on a shopper’s past purchases, a feature Harais says is “surprisingly accurate.” A regular Adidas buyer, he says the product has “significantly reduced the number of returns.” The sports retail giant recently partnered with e-commerce platform Findmine to automatically generate complete outfit recommendations for customers viewing a single item.
Some fashion brands are also using AI to analyze consumer demand patterns and predict future trends. This “reduces the overproduction that has historically contributed to fast fashion’s excessive waste,” said Paul Mageru, president of business applications. Executive committee member of IT consulting firm Computer Generated Solutions and Fashion Institute of Technology. “AI models can help identify which designs, colors, and sizes are most in demand, allowing manufacturers to produce only what they need, and how much unsold inventory ends up in landfills. can be significantly reduced.”
The concept of AI being deployed to curb the fashion industry’s carbon footprint is somewhat counterintuitive given the fact that AI itself has received attention for its significant environmental impact. According to a March report in The New Yorker, OpenAI’s ChatGPT consumes more than 500,000 kilowatt-hours of energy every day, compared to the 29 kilowatt-hours the average U.S. home generates each day. Increasing data processing demands from the exploding AI industry are straining the U.S. energy grid and forcing some major companies to get creative. For example, just last month, it was revealed that Microsoft, a major financial backer of OpenAI, was moving forward with plans to restart decommissioned nuclear power plants to drive demand for AI.
According to Harreis, the real cost and emissions reduction potential of AI is being overshadowed by the technology’s customer-facing applications. Generative AI is such a hot buzzword in the industry that it makes sense that fashion brands would focus on making their use of AI highly visible to their audience. For example, European fashion retailer Zalando announced it has rolled out its AI assistant globally.
And while generative AI has received particular attention from many brands, Harreis says AI’s real potential lies in back-end applications, niche applications in manufacturing and distribution processes that are not directly visible to consumers. is found in Supporting this view, a study published in May by Australian researchers found that AI-powered data management can help fast fashion brands reduce both costs and carbon emissions. (Perhaps not as eye-catching as branded chatbots, but perhaps more effective in promoting long-term sustainability goals.)
“There hasn’t been a lot of focus on actually understanding how to turn AI into a tool rather than just using it as a toy,” Harreis said. “[Brands] We need to understand that investing in technology alone is not enough…it’s about rewiring your entire organization…for every dollar you spend creating the tools you use, you pay for changes to your operating model and changes to your processes. You have to spend 5x more money on upskilling and reskilling [your] We curate people and data. ”
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But some say supply chain optimization is easy. The more difficult questions are both cultural and psychological, according to Atnyel Guedj, chief product officer at Made2Flow, a company that develops decarbonization solutions for fashion retailers.
As consumers, he says, we have been programmed through major advertising campaigns to always feel dissatisfied with our current wardrobe and therefore always feel like we have to buy more clothes. At the same time, the fashion industry has incentives to continually push the rate of change in trends. The more often you feel that your clothes are outdated, the more psychologically you are motivated to buy them.
“The reality is that human behavior, in general, is socially programmed by the retail industry to have very short attention spans and to always be looking for something new,” Gage said. . “Next time you go to the store and buy something, pay attention to how you feel about it. You get excited at the moment you pay for it, but then you quickly get excited. The excitement wears off.” There’s an immediate dopamine rush, followed by a crash and a craving for the next purchase.
According to this view, reducing the fashion industry’s environmental impact is not simply a matter of introducing new, more sophisticated technologies. The incentive structures built into the industry itself will need to be overhauled. “Reducing waste means choosing a different business model,” Gage says.
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