FASHION NEEDS A SEISMIC RESET - ITS A COMPLICATED SUPPLY CHAIN AND REINVENTION IS NOT AS EASY AS YOU THINK
“Manufacturing at speed demands automation and investment in new technologies. It also demands an accelerated learning curve. But do we have the knowledge and transparency at hand to make the step change required?” - Debbie McKeegan - TEXINTEL
Originally written for WhichPLM by Debbie McKeegan
Where do we go from here? The fashion industry is broken – and has been for some time. If there’s a tangible upside to the current pandemic, it’s that finally the iceberg is out of the water and in the public domain. Seismic change is required to redefine fashion – that’s fast or slow fashion – every aspect of the current business model is now under scrutiny.
The timescale is acute – In the past new technologies and equally disruptive business models have had the benefit of time to embed into the production process, but Covid has accelerated the need for change and shows no sign of slowing. Ecommerce sales are on the up witnessing ten years growth in just the first 3 months of the pandemic. But something else has accelerated – environmental awareness - the consumer is becoming increasingly aware of the true environmental cost of Fashion. The pressure on the system is palpable – business’s that have embraced digitization and technology have excelled during this incredibly difficult time – those that haven’t or cannot afford to do so, struggle on or disappear.
If the fashion industry doesn’t address its unsustainable practices it will neither survive nor thrive. The consumer demands action as does the environment.
A report from the Global Fashion Agenda, working with McKinsey states that if the Fashion Industry does not accelerate its response to climate change, it will by 2030 produce around twice the volume of emissions required to align with the Paris Agreements global warming pathways. From rising sea levels, to extreme rainfall and powerful heatwaves, the consequences of climate change can no longer be ignored by either society of the fashion Industry, which will see many impacts on its operations in the years ahead.
Amidst the global pandemic and rising pressure to address social issues, climate change is jostling for attention at the top of the international agenda.
However, managing the impacts of global warming is a precondition of building a fairer society and for tackling many of the problems of the age. To play its part, the fashion industry must ensure it engages with the issues and reduces its climate impact to a minimum.
All players in the fashion value cycle have the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions and help put the industry on the 1.5-degree pathway, whether that’s through coordinated decarbonisation efforts or sustainable consumption choices.
In 2018 the fashion industry produced 2.1 billion tonnes CO2eq. This represents 4% of global carbon emissions – an emissions’ share larger than that of France, Germany and the UK combined.
We have the technology to deliver sustainable Fashion and manufacturing and to support the reinvention of the Fashion Industry for sure, but how does a business make the necessary change at warp speed to survive. From the outside it looks simple – invest in new technologies for lean efficient sustainable production and control inventory - but as practitioners we all know it’s not quite that simple.
Manufacturing is a tough business, over the years margins have reduced as buyers squeeze the system with a firm grip and merciless power. Now faced with a requirement for reduced stock as order volumes are reduced and called off against sales data at speed, manufacturing is feeling the squeeze. Switching to an on-demand strategy or close proximity production is progress for sure and ultimately delivers a sustainable solution for the fashion buyer reducing their liability but how does that affect the supplier and the manufacturer. Who takes the risk and holds accountability? Stories abound of “sales or return” buying policies within the fashion industry, forcing the brands to take back last season’s unsold stock in order to sell this year’s collection is unsustainable and at best only serves to prolong the agony of commercial life for all stakeholders. The designer, supplier or manufacturer takes the all the risk!
The buyer always holds the power, and something has to give. The economics of retail need to realign with the realities of millennial production – put simply – volume orders are costed at scale. When you switch to a reduced buying strategy the numbers just don’t add up, the supplier is taking the pain.
As we emerge post pandemic strategic alliances are required between the retail sector and the supply chain. Collaboration is key if we are to build a new future for the fashion industry. Only then will we deliver a new chapter of successful commerce and reduce the environmental impact of retail and not simply prolong the agony and stress on the supply chain and the planet. The system must become risk averse for all both stakeholders and the environment.
If we are to rebuild and focus on a sustainable future, we have to instill trust, we have to value the stakeholder upstream and downstream. Liability has to be shared and contracts renegotiated so that businesses can thrive.
The supply chain for even the simplest garment contains multiple touch points, and each stakeholder has a responsibility however great or small. Manufacturing at speed demands automation and investment in new technologies. It also demands an accelerated learning curve. But do we have the knowledge and transparency at hand to make the step change required?
The role of the designer has evolved – sustainable design starts with the creative process. The DNA of the product is mastered by the design team, and the product partners are set for production.
The pandemic has accelerated the demand for sustainable manufacturing – either by raw components or in the demand for agile production i:e products that are either sustainably sourced and - or - efficiently manufactured to meet the growing demands of the consumer whilst also guaranteeing profitable sales. But are designers in possession of the facts? Do they have the knowledge or authority to ask the correct questions and source the right production partners? Are the components they source certified? When designing to a price point it’s not easy to configure the product to the buying team’s unrealistic expectations. This process is much easier for the large brand who have the volume to source and buy at scale, but for the smaller brand configuring products using sustainable sourced components or production is a difficult mission and often an impossible balancing act.
Sustainable fashion demands transparency – and the fashion industry isn’t renowned for or historically comfortable with sharing data. If we look at the industry’s most successful brand’s they are vertical.
Asking a brand to share information with supplier’s demand trust. We have to rebuild the value chain and renegotiate the contractual partnerships of the past and move forward at speed to become overtly transparent.
Only then can we truly manufacture sustainably and rebuild the Fashion Industry.
Colour Is Too Important to Leave to Chance
Print will always be the part of the garment people see first.
But the sum of all parts — the fabric, the trims, the fasteners, the finish — is what determines whether a design actually delivers on its promise. Brands that continue to treat colour as a single creative decision, rather than a coordinated technical discipline spanning their entire supply chain, will keep paying for it in re-dips, delays, and disappointed design teams.
A Century of Textiles, and an Ever-changing World
Few companies can trace their roots back more than a century and still count themselves among their industry's innovators. Texia, headquartered in Monistrol de Montserrat, Spain, is one of them.
But the story of Texia is not simply one of longevity.
It is a story of continual reinvention. As the textile industry has grown more global and competitive, Texia has repeatedly reshaped its business, investing in technology, developing its own brands, and placing sustainability at the centre of its mission. In doing so, it offers a compelling example of how a heritage manufacturer can lead rather than follow through a period of profound industry change. Image Credit: Texia
What are we craving Ultimately?
The instinct to slow down while simultaneously optimising every measurable aspect of life isn't a passing curiosity. It's a structural response to a world that feels increasingly unstable, and it's reshaping what people expect from their homes, hotels, workplaces and healthcare environments alike.
For the design and manufacturing sectors, this means rethinking both product and process.
The Structual Shift is Real and its Already Here
Volumes are moving east, where digital production is accelerating rapidly. Consumer behaviour has shifted.
Demand is now driven by personalisation, shorter buying cycles, and an expectation of near-instant responsiveness. Regulatory pressure is intensifying, with supply chain transparency now a legal and commercial fact in many markets. And margins? They are under sustained, structural pressure.
This is not a temporary disruption. It is a fundamental reordering of how textile manufacturing must operate.
The Challenge: Standing Firm as the Industry Shifts
The wallpaper landscape has changed dramatically. Digital printing has lowered the barrier to entry, spawning countless direct-to-consumer brands and pushing much of the market towards faster, cheaper production.
At the same time, manufacturing in the UK has grown steadily harder - rising minimum wage, national insurance, energy and substrate costs all bear down on margins. Surface Print have embraced all of these challenges - and stand resolutely prepared for the future.
From Helsinki's printing mill to Paris's Le Marais, discover how Marimekko is scaling a design-led brand with purpose, craft, and bold innovation.
But what makes Marimekko's story compelling is not just its aesthetic legacy?
The word "toxic" carries weight. It conjures danger, harm, and things best avoided.
“Yet in the textile industry - Where between 3,000 and 10,000 chemicals move through the supply chain, a reflexive fear of the term is one of our biggest obstacles to progress.”
This article distils the key takeaways and what buyers, designers, and brands should be asking right now.
What Is the Digital Product Passport?
At its core, a Digital Product Passport is a digital record attached to a physical product - For a printed textile product, this means the DPP would capture data on the substrate, inks and dyes used, the printing process and technology, chemical compliance, environmental impact (including water and energy use), supply chain traceability, and end-of-life instructions.
The Market Gap that Changed Everything
Future Fashion was founded in 2019, timed deliberately to coincide with a pivotal moment in global textile technology: the commercial launch of the EFI Reggiani BOLT Single-Pass digital printing system.
The founders recognised that single-pass architecture had fundamentally changed what was industrially possible - and that Pakistan's domestic market had yet to catch up.
Print is no longer defined by the inefficiencies that once characterised it…as advances in production processes and technology have significantly improved its environmental performance.
Taran Rai, Corporate Sustainability Manager at Epson explains why?
The story of what happens when young designers access digital technology is still being written.
What once was a theoretical sustainability goal seems to have shifted into an active regulatory reality.
Is the Textile Market Finally Recovering?
After a difficult few years, there are genuine reasons for optimism. Duncan was candid about the challenges: "The market for textiles has been very difficult over the last three years. I'm not going to hide the truth there. But the tide is turning.“
A profound shift is currently reshaping the sector
Changing consumer expectations demand greater design diversity, faster turnaround times, and sustainable manufacturing practices.
To thrive, interior brands must adapt their supply chains, bringing production closer to the end consumer and moving away from bulk manufacturing.
Digital textile printing offers a definitive solution to these operational bottlenecks.
Digital transformation doesn't announce itself.
It accumulates - one innovation at a time - until an entire industry looks back and realises the ground has shifted beneath its feet. That's precisely where textiles stands today.
The conversations happening now about AI, automation, sustainability, and digital product passports are not theoretical. They are shaping decisions being made on factory floors and in boardrooms right now.
“By leveraging advanced digital textile printing, Marylene Madou has successfully merged traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. Her approach offers a blueprint for how independent designers can scale their brands globally while maintaining a minimal environmental footprint.”
The textile industry is undergoing a vital transformation. As the insights from Techtextil and Texprocess reveal, the path forward relies on a combination of sustainable hardware, intelligent chemistry, and seamless digital workflows.
From Zimmer's industrial-scale energy reductions and Stratasys's on-demand 3D embellishments, to Kornit's single-step technical printing and the unified digital ecosystems of NedGraphics and Optitex, the tools for change are here. To stay competitive, brands and manufacturers must adopt these innovations, moving away from fragmented, wasteful processes towards a truly connected, circular economy.
Friedmans stands as a testament to the power of combining traditional textile knowledge with forward-thinking innovation.
“Operating from their UK headquarters, Friedmans now serves a diverse array of sectors, including swimwear, dance, entertainment, sportswear, interior decor, prosthetics, and even pet apparel. With a strategic supply chain that reliably serves clients worldwide”
The apparel decoration industry is decisively moving away from isolated, analogue production tools toward connected digital manufacturing environments.
"Kornit’s unwavering commitment to transformative technology continues to disrupt the status quo. For business leaders and innovators ready to capture the future of apparel manufacturing, the path forward is clear”
The Urgent Need for Sustainability at Scale
The transformation at Coats provides a vital blueprint for the wider textile and apparel sector. True sustainability cannot be achieved in silos. As Dearing emphasised:
“Cross-industry collaboration is the engine of meaningful change. Brands, machinery suppliers, chemical providers, and fibre producers must act as an interconnected ecosystem”
Today’s customers demand superior product quality, real-time data visibility, and lightning-fast turnaround times.
For large-scale garment decorators, managing these expectations while balancing seasonal demand fluctuations - such as the massive surges seen during Black Friday - presents a monumental challenge.
"Relying on transactional vendor relationships and outdated legacy equipment is no longer sufficient to secure long-term stability and growth.”
Printing method is never a secondary detail. It shapes the entire life cycle of a product, from concept to customer. In today’s fashion industry, where margins are tighter and speed matters more than ever, technical knowledge has become a competitive advantage.
“The future of textile design belongs to professionals who can combine creativity with execution, aesthetics with practicality, and vision with production reality”.
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