Some industries are transitioning faster than others, but it is occurring everywhere. Even in long-standing enterprises, such as the textile industry, where individuals have worked for decades and children are expected to carry on the family business, change is taking place. So, how does this field promote progress?
Former Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Daniel Quintero Calle gave his observations from a visit to the Arturo Tejada textile design and marketing school at the Innovation Forum 2019 in Bogotá this past June. After interrogating the students about their future intentions. He discovered that many of them were interested in working for well-known textile firms such as Leonisa.
This is only one of many possible outcomes. Most persons who are seeking professional education are doing it because they have been assigned work that they did not want to accomplish.
Future Innovation Directions in the Textile Industry
These are only a few of the potential given by the Fourth Industrial Revolution in this sector, which is being powered by creative individuals and thereby moving beyond the previous three waves of automation.
Three-dimensional inkjet printing
Danit Peleg, an Israeli fashion designer, established a collection that could be manufactured in Israel in 2015. She started by studying, networking with people who understood technology, and preparing herself to achieve her goal. This resulted in the creative field of 3D-printed clothing such as skirts, blouses, gowns, and other items.
New fibers and raw ingredients are in the works.
Science also plays a significant role in this. It is becoming more common to discover certain clothing that is designed to keep a specific temperature, which is very beneficial for athletes or those who live in harsh environments (extremely cold or hot) or who need resistant clothes.
Using a spider web analogy, artificial strands and filaments that combine improved strength and durability with flexibility and lightness are gaining popularity. As a result, there is an urgent need in the textile industry to acquire the capabilities required to produce new high-performance fibers made of polymers, carbon, and even those that may provide waste recycling solutions.
Smart clothing enters the picture at this stage, for example, to enhance firefighters’ suits or medical clothes, to name a few, and is capable of detecting, acting, storing, creating (energy, for example), and communicating. Wearables and smart garments have a wide range of applications in this context. Also, they are often used in conjunction with solutions such as the Internet of Things (IoT), data analysis (Big Data), and Artificial Intelligence.
Circular, ethical, and sustainable fashion
The fashion industry, according to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), produces more pollution than international aviation and shipping combined. The UN expresses concern over the following findings:
- To make denim, 7500 liters of water are required.
- The textile industry consumes 93.000 billion cubic meters of water every year, enough to feed 5 million people.
- The clothing industry accounts for 20% of total world water waste.
- The clothing and footwear industry is responsible for 8% of greenhouse gas emissions.
- The equivalent of a trash truck’s worth of textiles is buried or burned every second.
- Fabric manufacturers‘ use more than quadrupled between 2000 and 2014.
As a result, and in accordance with the goals of the Paris Agreement. The top corporations have promised to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030, according to CNN. They also choose to support low-carbon transit providers and environmentally friendly products. It is a worldwide project that needs a variety of techniques, from planning to manufacturing to sale to disposal. The circular economy is equally important in this context.
Eco-friendly apparel Clothes reusing is a new concept that is gaining traction. Many well-known companies have already established programs in which consumers may trade in their old travel clothing for cash or other commodities, which are then utilized to manufacture brand-new outfits.
Perfect practice makes perfect
The power to customize anything is the only thing that really distinguishes our period. Consumers today expect to be able to personalize their purchases to the slightest detail, and clothing is no different. In fact, it’s one of the areas where the most answers might be discovered.
Using immersive textile technology like Virtual and Augmented Reality. Customers may “try on” numerous color and length combinations, pattern locations, and more. In other circumstances, the capabilities of voice assistants such as Alexa are used by having them serve as style advisers.
Well-known corporations are already using virtual reality to sell their goods in shops. The consumer just has to move their phone to different points inside the store to view a model dressed in merchandise from multiple brands.
They are, however, not the only technical breakthroughs. As time passes and new global needs emerge, it is unavoidable that this and other industries will need to adapt and alter as well. Cultural and training concerns are intertwined; it is vital to understand the modern environment and offer people new skills.
