Introduction

From linear to circular

In 2023, fashion ⁽¹⁾The fashion industry consists of four levels: the production of raw materials, principally fibers and textiles but also leather and fur; the production of fashion goods by designers, manufacturers, contractors, and others; retail sales; and various forms of advertising and promotion (Britannica, 2023). was estimated to be a USD 1.7 trillion industry employing over 300 million people in its extended value chain (McKinsey & Co., 2023). Textile and garment manufacture are major export industries in many countries, such as Bangladesh, the People’s Republic of China, India and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam (WTO, 2023), supporting employment, industrialization and economic growth. However, as manufacturing and distribution are increasingly organized in global supply chains located across multiple countries, it is challenging to establish consistent and mutually agreed sustainability indicators. It is also challenging to achieve traceability needed to monitor sustainability indicators for brands to be accountable.

The production of garments and textiles involves many processes of material transformation from raw material to finished product, which are responsible for a significant amount of industrial pollution and environmental damage (Niinimäki et al., 2020). Textile and garment manufacturing account for:

• an estimated 2% (over 1 billion metric tonnes) of global carbon emissions (Sadowski et al., 2021);

• 20% of all industrial water pollution (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017);

• nearly 5% of the world’s pesticides and 10% of insecticides for cotton growing (International Cotton Advisory Committee, 2019);

• up to 35% (between 200,000 and 500,000 tonnes) of microplastics entering marine environments each year (European Environment Agency, 2021);

• use of around 79 trillion liters of water;

• over 92 million tonnes of textile waste per year (Niinimäki et al., 2020).

It has been estimated that by 2050 the fashion industry could account for over a quarter of the global carbon budget (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2018). ⁽²⁾The carbon budget is a calculation of the amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) that can be emitted to keep the average increase in global temperature to within a maximum threshold of 2°C above preindustrial levels, and preferably no more than 1.5°C as per the Paris Agreement, the legally binding international treaty on climate change agreed at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in 2015. To keep global warming to within 1.5°C, carbon emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 (UN, 2023). This projected share is disproportionately large, given there are sectors with much higher emissions intensity, such as utilities, materials and energy (S&P Global, 2022).

A critical issue in fashion is the industry’s growth trajectory, seen in the proliferation and dominance of fast fashion. This refers to cheap manufacture of low-priced trend-led items that encourage consumers to purchase new items frequently. Fast fashion exacerbates the industry’s environmental impact owing to increased volume in production and shorter use time of items produced before disposal. Further, fast-fashion items more often contain a mix of synthetic materials, most commonly polyester, which contribute to fossil fuel consumption, environmental pollution and textile waste, in addition to being more difficult to recycle (Changing Markets Foundation, 2021). In fact, very little clothing is recycled, making it evident that the fashion supply chain is linear, not circular. In 2016, a report by McKinsey estimated that global production had surpassed 100 billion garments per year by 2014, but there are no verifiable statistics published more recently. However, as global fiber production doubled between 2000 and 2022, from 58 million to 116 million tonnes (Textile Exchange, 2023), most of which is destined for clothing (Niinimäki et al., 2020) it can be deduced that the annual number of garments being produced has since surpassed 100 billion. A fundamental shift in the fashion system is the need to slow down production, while making more efficient use of materials and products in existence. These issues highlight the imperative for decision-makers to legislate toward a more sustainable fashion industry, and for the fashion industry to address its environmental responsibilities and shift toward a more circular and sustainable business model.

Scope

This publication is centered around critical points in the value chain, namely agriculture/extraction, textile and garment manufacture, transport and end of life, and is not a comprehensive collection of all sustainable fashion technologies available. Unlike a life cycle assessment, it does not consider the consumer use phase. While the term “sustainability” is generally understood to refer to various social, environmental and economic dimensions, the technologies in this brief mainly address environmental challenges. Although the focus of this report is not on social responsibility or technologies that primarily impact workers, communities and livelihoods, there are associated benefits for workers and communities in reducing pollution and carbon emissions or supporting resource conservation and biodiversity, such as health, disease resistance, food and nutrition security.

Methodology

This report looks at a variety of sustainable technologies designed to reduce fashion’s environmental impact. It begins by identifying key environmental impact areas in the fashion supply chain in terms of water usage, chemicals input, energy consumption or waste generation. This is followed by a description of some of the technologies under development or that have been deployed that may help mitigate various environmental impacts of fashion value chain from fiber growth/extraction to end of life. The report also highlights, where possible, the role of intellectual property (IP) in catalyzing green technology innovation. In any event, it sets out the underlying importance of IP in developing green technologies.

A systematic review of relevant fashion industry and greentech publications, academic literature, and fashion tech and sustainable fashion competitions and awards from 2014 to 2023 was conducted. The aim is to help stakeholders understand the landscape and state of the art in sustainable fashion technologies, analyze trends and challenges, and identify opportunities within the most impactful areas for technology and innovation.

The academic literature provided an overview of the subject area and research directions but very few identifiable technologies that could be or are currently being deployed in the fashion industry. Subsequently, focus on startups and entrepreneurial activity in industry publications, competitions, accelerators and trade fairs led to the identification of most of the technologies in the sample. While not exhaustive, these sources provide a broad and rich insight into the scope of current and potential future solutions.

The selection criteria for the technologies that are part of this research were as follows:

• relevance to sustainable fashion and textile industry

• lower environmental impact

• durability and recyclability

• biodegradability

• material and energy efficiency

Over 200 sustainable fashion technologies were identified and mapped to five key production stages, shown in the figure below. In this report the reader will find a selection of 34 technologies and innovation practices. The complete list of 200 technologies identified as relevant for sustainable textiles can be found in a dedicated collection on the WIPO GREEN database. The technologies range from algae-based polyester alternatives to the use of blockchain technology to communicate environmental sustainability. Most technologies focus on innovation around raw materials and textile production processes, where the greatest environmental impact occurs. Evidence of increased levels of investment by global brands, impact investors and retailers toward sustainable innovation startups is promising for scaling technologies.

Key stages in textile and fashion production and associated sustainable technologies

The focus of this review is to spotlight innovative technologies that offer more sustainable alternatives to the status quo outlined in the Introduction and have potential for scale and commercialization. Breakthrough technologies play a key role but reliance on the commercialization and widespread adoption of new technologies could lead to missed opportunities. In many parts of the world, numerous technologies are unaffordable and difficult to access. Therefore, sustainable techniques and practices based on traditional knowledge, nature-based solutions and adaptation of existing solutions to meet the unique challenges of various regions and sectors are needed in order to facilitate technology uptake (WIPO, 2023) and avoid missed opportunities. The following sections outline the types of technologies that have emerged in key production stages, with examples of promising technologies that aim to address:

• greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions

• raw material demand and textile waste

• water usage

• energy usage

• hazardous chemicals

• transport related emissions in supply chains

The term innovation – used in the sections titled “Innovation example” – covers all intellectual creativity that could result in a solution. Technology relates to any physical entity or technique, with or without additional equipment, that is deployed to resolve a specific challenge (WIPO, 2023).

While Figure 1 splits out the stages of agricultural cultivation/fiber extraction and textile manufacture, the identified technologies in these areas often address both stages. Innovations in the stages of agricultural cultivation/fiber extraction and textile manufacture are largely focused on novel materials, so there is overlap between technologies that present alternatives to current practices of extraction for synthetics and cotton growing and those that focus on textile manufacture. Some companies work across fiber production as well as yarn and/or textile manufacture. There is also some overlap between agricultural cultivation/fiber extraction/textile manufacture and end of life, where technologies provide alternatives to using virgin resources by regenerating pre- or post-consumer textile waste into new fibers or materials. For the purpose of clarity in this report’s structure, the review of technologies within the agriculture and extraction stages will be combined, and textile-to-textile opportunities will be presented within the end-of-life stage.