Despite their best efforts, many high-end brands are struggling to combat a flourishing fashion black market. Fake designer goods are still being produced in astounding quantities, affecting these brands’ bottom lines, intellectual property and reputations. While many consumers purchase illegitimate goods knowing that they are not authentic, many buy believing them to be real. When they inevitably fail to meet expectations, the brand suffers and their image is tarnished.
To counter this, more textile brands are investing in authenticity technologies, such as Addmaster’s Verimaster solution. More effective than traditional verification technologies like holograms and watermarks, which are easy to forge, Verimaster is an anti-counterfeit additive that manufacturers can use to identify authentic consumer goods and that cannot be replicated or reproduced by illicit groups. It can also be used for batch traceability, enabling manufacturers to easily determine the age and origins of a particular product.
- Discovering disruptors
In the past, the cost of generating interest and awareness in a brand or product ensured disruptors found it difficult to break into a textile market dominated by big brands with enormous marketing budgets. However, social media and the rise of the influencer have made it easier than ever to spark a buzz and capture the attention of a large number of consumers with a new technology or innovation. While social media is nothing new, businesses are now well-versed in its use, and even the freshest startup knows how to leverage it effectively.
This has given rise to a new generation of textile brands and businesses that can launch successfully with a relatively niche product based on a single (but valuable and effective) innovation. By making it easier for consumers to discover disruptors and removing obstacles to the initial brand launch phase, digital marketing tools and social media are driving rapid innovation in the textile sector and rearing a fresh generation of small but successful fashion brands that bring new and exciting ideas to the table.
- Dyeing technologies reduce consumption and waste
Digital technologies are also permeating the textile dyeing sector, where they are enabling more environmentally friendly dyeing techniques that reduce water consumption, energy use and chemical pollution. This promises to revolutionize traditional dyeing techniques and address an aspect of the textile manufacturing process that has struggled with sustainability concerns.
In other areas, dye manufacturers are also incorporating additive technologies into their products and producing recycled dyes with the aim of improving environmental performance. The recent collaboration between Polygiene and Officina+39 is an excellent example of how sustainable dye manufacturing processes and effective additive technologies can combine to deliver outstanding value to consumers and contribute to a more sustainable approach to textile dyeing.
- Biodegradable textiles
Biodegradable textiles are gaining ground as fashion brands become increasingly interested in sustainability and want to ensure products are environmentally friendly across their entire lifecycle, including end-of-life disposal. Biodegradable textiles are an innovative textile technology that enables consumers to dispose of their clothes safely and sustainably. They’re an excellent alternative to recyclable textiles.
Textiles that do not degrade naturally are usually consigned to landfills, where they remain for a long time. Polyester clothing can take up to 200 years to decompose, depending on fabric quality and thickness (UofW). By developing and utilizing biodegradable textiles, brands address one of the most pressing sustainability issues in the fashion industry.
- Upcycling
Brands are also becoming much better at upcycling materials to create new products. Several businesses have launched successful upcycling programs. Patagonia’s Worn Wear initiative is an excellent example. It allows customers to trade in their old Patagonia gear for credit. The clothing is then upcycled for resale.
Some brands are taking things further and basing their entire business model and product range on upcycled items. For instance, Paris ReMade takes high-end designer items and deadstock and repurposes them, creating new products. Renowned for its out-there designs, the brand demonstrates that upcycling is not incompatible with the catwalk.
