The fashion industry has a lot to answer for when it comes to environmental degradation. Polluting dyes, excess stock reaching landfill, and a toxic amount of international travel make the industry one of the worst in terms of environmental impact, accounting for up to 10% of global carbon dioxide output.
There have been some innovative down-stream solutions, such as Usedfully who repurpose waste textiles into a concrete block alternative; however, the solution needs to take place at the source of the problem if real change is to occur.
At Kornit’s London Fashion Week 2022, innovative technology met edgy design as the digital textile printing company envisaged a sustainable future for the fashion industry.
Kornit’s on-demand printing systems are designed to eliminate waste from the textile printing process. Removing redundancies and excess labour, the versatile technology can print direct-to-garment and direct-to-fabric, empowering designers to make sustainable decisions whilst maintaining quality and aesthetic.
Why is this important? The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world, with 21 million tonnes of textile wasted annually. A dysfunctional supply chain excretes a damaging amount of carbon dioxide and uses 28 trillion litres of water a year.
At the event, Bill McReith, ex-Chief Supply Chain Officer at PVH, an American clothing company that owns brands such as Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, delivered a talk on how pre-existing supply chains need to change to solve contemporary problems. Focusing on sustainability and agility, Bill advocated for a movement towards dynamic data-driven order flows that empower the manufacturer to dictate order load.
Kornit Fashion Week was an attempt to position Kornit's printing solutions as an answer to the problem. As a means of producing runway quality textile printing with zero water consumption, Kornit’s technology could be the future of sustainable fashion.
A collection designed by Artsi Ifrach's Maison ARTC, and created using Kornit's sustainable and on-demand technology, was proof of the concept. The collection, completed in just a few days using Kornit's printing process, and debuted on the Kornit runway, drew together an eclectic and colourful style inspired by history, art, and Artsi's photography and home, Morocco.
Also at the event, fashion designer and entrepreneur Joshua Roberto's London based label LOVE HERO presented a collection that was produced using Kornit technology. Further entwining the worlds of technology and fashion, all fabrics used by LOVE HERO are traceable and certified through their blockchain platform, Retraced, as a means of supply-side transparency and carbon footprint minimisation.
With one foot firmly placed in a futuristic world not too far from our present, Kornit Fashion Week was one big experiment with technology. Augmented reality offered new ways to appreciate and play with fashion designs and clothing, whilst virtual reality headsets transported attendees to an immersive curated design landscape.
By 2026, Kornit technology will enable production of approximately 2.5 billion apparel items, saving 4.3 trillion litres of water and 17.2 billion kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions - reducing overproduction by 1.1 billion apparel items.
Whilst the Kornit printing press is an attempt to do the conventional is an unconventional way, Kornit Fashion Week presented an unconventional, and quite radical, reimagining of the fashion show, presenting an insight into the innovative future of the textile and fashion industry.
