Sustainability and Digitalization

The 20th Century fashion system, predicated on bi-annual presentations to wholesale buyers travelling the globe appears increasingly inappropriate in the 21st Century digital economy.

The designer fashion sector in the UK is economically significant, comprising a high proportion of micro and small businesses that often serve as creative inspiration for the wider fashion system, but struggle to survive themselves. These design-led businesses have the capability to be highly agile, utilizing local and novel smaller-scale production methods and practices to meet changing demand efficiently. A number of innovators are developing alternative business models that harness digital technology for creative purposes, rather than purely for marketing and e-commerce, demonstrating the potential to be more environmentally (and economically) sustainable.

This chapter discusses findings from research with micro and small fashion enterprises, investigating their use of digital technology in creative processes, and presents examples of innovations that challenge current paradigms and could have significant influence on future fashion.