Hi Everyone! Today, we are going to explore the role of artificial intelligence in promoting sustainability, from predicting fashion trends to optimizing supply chains and reducing waste. AI is becoming a widespread tool in all industries, but I was very intrigued to see that it was being used in the fashion industry in this way! Let’s dive into how it is being used to see the future of our industry.
One of the most complex issues to overcome in fashion is predicting what trends are staying and which are going. Also, what will the following trendy styles be? It is hard for people to constantly predict that while keeping up with the constantly changing trends. AI can now predict future trends, not just any trends, but trends that can help reduce waste. Clothing companies spend all their resources, such as time, money, and effort predicting trends, and then by producing products to follow these trends, they create waste and pollution. This is where AI comes in to narrow down the uncertainty of new and upcoming trends. With AI, trends can be predicted more accurately so that excess waste and pollution aren’t created by following tons of micro trends. That is so cool. Imagine the amount of research it takes to predict upcoming trends; now, with the click of a button, AI can do it for you. Sounds pretty amazing to me.
This also leads to a decrease in overproduction. By being able to predict new and upcoming trends, we eliminate the production of excess products to follow many micro trends that aren’t actually trends that stay around. Fast fashion is the main antagonist in all of this. The constant creation of new products increases the constant buying of consumers. This leads to more and more waste. AI algorithms can accurately predict consumer demand patterns to optimize the amount of products created. AI bases its algorithm on social media, historical data, and anything else it can find. This ensures that human error and uncertainty are diminished, ultimately reducing overstocking and waste.
In order to do this, all AI can do is process unstructured data at scale. Brands find it hard to handle all of the data related to the products being produced, such as text, images, and supply chain details. AI can analyze sources, such as sustainability reports, with natural language processing to collect insights related to upcoming trends and customer preferences.
One platform that is used for data collection is Carbon Trail. It can handle the data from millions of products. It allows companies to enhance supply chain visualization, identify sustainable materials, and track product authenticity. This allows producers to better understand market trends, consumer behavior, and sustainability opportunities. As a whole, this is allowing the industry to make more well-informed decisions and driving innovation.
Although many people have mixed opinions on AI, it is proving to be very useful in the fashion industry. It prevents overproduction by eliminating all the guesswork of upcoming trends and much more. AI is making the fashion industry more accurate in everything they do to produce products. I think that AI in the fashion industry is becoming a very important and efficient tool. Hopefully, in the long run, it will genuinely make a difference in the overproduction of the fashion industry. As always, stay curious! Signing off with a smile.
-Savannah
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This is so interesting, I want to learn more!