"A report from retail software company ShareCloth reveals the problem of overproduction currently plagues with nearly 30 per cent of fashion goods produced going unsold. Additionally, over 50 per cent of fast fashion sold is thrown out less than a year later, with 12.8 million ton of clothing annually dumped into landfills. This chronic overproduction negatively impacts the environment, emitting 1.2 billion ton of greenhouse gases each year into the atmosphere. It also affects the fashion brands’ profits in the long run, making the industry lose out on $52 billion in revenue by 2030."

A report from retail software company ShareCloth reveals the problem of overproduction currently plagues with nearly 30 per cent of fashion goods produced going unsold. Additionally, over 50 per cent of fast fashion sold is thrown out less than a year later, with 12.8 million ton of clothing annually dumped into landfills.

This chronic overproduction negatively impacts the environment, emitting 1.2 billion ton of greenhouse gases each year into the atmosphere. It also affects the fashion brands’ profits in the long run, making the industry lose out on $52 billion in revenue by 2030.

Unpredictable fashion trends lead to overproduction

Overproduction results from longer times taken for designing and producing fashion collections as designers are often unable to predict current and future fashion trends. Additionally, brands often need to meet minimum orders that force them to produce more than they might actually need. The logistics of inventory management can lead to large overproduction. For brands that own their own factories, like footwear brand Rothy’s, this process is much easier.

Third party sellers, dead-stock, resale emerge viable options

For brands that do not have that option, there are still alternatives. For one, retailers like Blinq allow brands to sell their excess material to third parties who will handle selling it to consumers. Some brands make extensive use of dead-stock as a way to keep waste production low. This can give a new life to the products that would otherwise end up sitting in a landfill for hundreds of years, or emerging data technologies, which can help brands more accurately predict exactly what and how much they need to produce in order to meet demand without vastly overestimating what demand, can all help alleviate the problem of overproduction. Public School, for example, has also won an award from the CFDA for using dead-stock.

Designing to resell a product prevents some of the more dire environmental effects of overproduction. The RealReal’s partnership with Stella McCartney, which the two just renewed for 2019, was built explicitly to help keep McCartney’s clothes out of landfills and ensure that every piece got multiple uses in its lifetime. The brand also encourages others to embrace the circular economy model to reduce waste production. The emergence of streetwear and luxury drops that emphasise on producing less than what is in demand could also lead luxury brands to curb their overproduction problems.

Ultimately, in order to curb overproduction, brands need to make smart decisions. If they continue to adopt the same strategies, implemented over years, they are sure to lose out profits additionally also impacting the environment.