Visit of Fashion Green Days : ecology serves fashion

How to consume less and better ? How to limit the environmental impact of textile industry, one of the most worldwide damaging industry ?

To meet the challenge of ecological transition, the fashion industry needs to switch to a loop-like system like circular economy. It would allow to produce while limiting wasting of raw materials and energy sources.

Fashion Green Days : what is it ?

Fashion Green Days is the first forum of circular and eco-designed fashion. It is organized by the assocation NordCrea from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure Des Arts et Industries Textiles (ENSAIT) based in Roubaix. This NOWASTE event took place on May 23rd and 24th 2019 in Roubaix and gathered a lot of partners engaged in ciruclar economy. This second edition introduced “solid actions in order to apply the circular economy principles to the fashion industry”.

Our consultant Manel LAKHAL attended during two days, met textile actors and attended lectures on eco-conception and responsible fashion. She tells us about her experience.

Visit of the exhibition :

The exhibition welcomed 60 companies and start-ups, all committed to innovation and sustainable fashion. They exhibited their products and last innovations in regards of circular fashion. Those companies committed themselves to implement a circular strategy in their own companies by :

– Implementing a circular strategy for the design and development of their products

– Increasing the volume and handling of collected used garments

– Using recycled textile fibers or organical fibers

Workshops :

During these two days, I attended 2 professional workshops about circular fashion :

3D Initiation :

3D consists in creating a three-dimensions product in a virtual environment. Thanks to a number of conception tools, garements can be prototyped, and then virtually tested on models, before being cut, sewn, and shot. 3D design makes the design process easier and faster. It also reduces cutting material and prototyping wastes. In this workshop, the designer exhibited a « Zero Waste » collection. In this way, she prooved the ecological, technical and creative potentials of this approach.

How is 3D used in fashion industry in 2019 ? 3D technology is more and more used in fashion industry. It is developped in the following softwares :

Marvelous Designer : This 3D infography software is used for creating and simulating 3D clothing for cinema, television, video games and interior design.

This software is mainly used by artists and clothing industry professionals. It offers sewing tools and new modelling functions.

Clo 3D : Is a software of the same editor intended for fashion and creation industries. This tool make changes on 2D patterns easier, it is also allows to visualize and test-run prototypes in 3D. It is possible to design and adjust clothing details, with additionnal founctions such as viewing the points of contact and the fabric pressure on the body.

The Clo3D software allows to design 2D and 3D pieces in the same window and thus makes the product viewing easier even before being prototyped.

The Fabricant : It is a design studio which refers itself as « Digital Fashion House ».

Designers have linked differents technologies to scan bodies, design avatars and clothing and apply to them animations.

Shudu Gram : This influencer considers herself as « First Digital Supermodel », a virtual character created in 2018 and supported by the makeup brand Fenty Beauty by Rihanna.

Workshop 2 : Tracking and transparency

« Tracking and transparency » are now in heart of supply chain management strategies.

A company should properly map and document its supply chain processes in order to protect its brand image from raw materials to the final product. It should also collect, transfer and communicate informations externally and internally.

The speakers introduced us tools that cover the supply chain processes, collect and control the data. They also presented a risk management solution called « Fair Makers ». This solution can send quizz each month to workers and collect information which will be analysed and lead to action plans. It allows to have a steady control and detect the risk level.

Each time a risk is detected, the factory and the brand receive an alert and an action plan is implemented with precise deadlines.

These two workshop were particulary rewarding and enhance the challenges and benefits of implementing more responsible fashion strategies.

At Fit Retail, we are committed to this approach and  created a 3D design consulting offer based on CLO3D.