The Eco Fashion Park has an infrastructure that is made up of three different sections- garment creation, garment lifespan, and garment EOL (end of life). The infrastructure aims to create a network of onshore manufacturing capabilities that will be adjunct to offshore and nearshore manufacturing.
The goal of the garment creation aspect for this model is to have a no waste supply chain that focuses on the ‘last mile’ of processing- this can include raw material suppliers, fabric mills, and manufacturers. The purpose for this process is to have an inventory position that doesn't jeopardize the company's success. The garment lifespan section in the Ecoparc gives consumers and producers an option to extend the usual lifespan of a garment. With options of renting clothing or reselling your old clothing, the life of the garment is extended which can lead to less waste in the landfill as well as a more cradle-to-cradle design which has many positive benefits. Instilling these habits, such as secondhand clothing and clothing rentals, allows for more ‘slow fashion’- did you know that the average lifespan of garments today is around five years?
Things like upcycling, down cycling, and recycling can all ensure a sustainable and profitable garment EOL. Upcycling clothing means taking an old item that is of low value and recreating it to make it something of higher value, it might look something like using an old pair of jeans and turning into a tote bag. Downcycling clothes is similar to upcycling, except the item is changed into something of less value, such as turning old clothing into rags or carpet padding, extending the life and use of these materials. Recycling garments made of cotton, wool, polyester,nylon, etc. is useful because the old items are recreated into something of similar value that can be used to create something else instead of having to use new resources and raw materials. Mechanical recycling is a popular way to recycle old garments- these items are sorted, shredded, bleached, and then respun into new yarn. Chemical recycling is another popular method used for polyester and nylon, although it is more costly.
By using this supply chain model, we hope to incorporate these following ideas into today's fashion industry to amplify brand and retail capability. The first objective is to have the global supply chain engaged in real time to help design and develop the materials sustainably and efficiently. Next, we aim to have a zero waste, zero inventory, and zero risk model that will be able to produce on demand with customization possible to fit varying needs. To satisfy the OOQs (Optimal Order Quantity), there will be tests done locally to get the correct inventory to make informed decisions when buying in bulk globally. Staying up to date on trends and “today's” fashion is another goal in this infrastructure, by doing this consumers will be satisfied and there will be little to no lag in the purchasing/selling of items. Making sure to understand the market first and then reacting is an important notion for this infrastructure to be successful.
Fashionably,
FABRIC Eco Squad