September 28, 2023
Fashion Fiction, a Textile Fablab
Fashion is a sector undergoing a sustainable transformation. The way garments are manufactured and reach stores could change by leveraging automation and digital fabrication tools.
The other day, I was pondering how clothing stores might look in a few years. I never had much interest in fashion, nor do I particularly enjoy shopping. My interest grew when I discovered that this is a sector undergoing major efforts to accelerate its transition. Since then, I have been learning new details that help me understand that achieving truly Sustainable Fashion is a massive challenge.
In recent decades, the linear consumption model—extract, use, dispose—seen in many industries has dominated fashion to the extent that we now talk about disposable fashion. According to data from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, every second, a truckload of clothing ends up in a landfill or incinerated. If that seems distant, consider the UN data: “99% of the things we buy are discarded within six months.” Textile production is environmentally intensive—it requires raw materials from agriculture or fossil fuels, generates substantial waste from processing and dyeing, and is often outsourced to countries where working conditions are unfair.
This is an industry that needs to change rapidly.
“What if clothing collections were made with fewer size variations?” I thought to myself. I remembered that a couple of decades ago, when you went to a store, you chose from a few sizes and had the garment altered—hems adjusted, waists taken in. The downside was that you couldn’t take the item home immediately, and the store had to employ skilled staff for alterations, often outsourcing them. Today, things could be different, thanks to 3D printers, cutting machines, and an entire industry of automation. It would be a fashion fablab—a space where garments are finished on-site, much like a bakery workshop where people move in sync, working alongside robotic machines in a futuristic setting. I found the idea fascinating—technology, innovation, and textiles…
But after letting the thought sit for a while, I realized that while it was an interesting concept, reality is quite different. We have become accustomed to a shopping experience where everything happens in seconds, with minimal waiting times. The variety of shopping behaviors has expanded—online purchases, quick buys for home trials with the option to return what doesn’t fit. Many factors that I had not considered.
This reflection reminded me that sustainable fashion is not just about changing how clothes are produced but also about transforming consumer culture. Just before summer, the UNEP published a guide on sustainable fashion communication, emphasizing the immense potential of fashion in tackling climate change. Not only through the textile industry itself but also by influencing cultural decisions that extend beyond fashion.