Fashion and Technology: Environmental Challenges and the Role of Design
overheated, track #05 | reading time: 5 min
The future of fashion has already begun. Technological clothing that monitors and even optimizes daily activities is now a reality. One example of a technological fashion product currently on the market is the Nadi X Pants by Wearable X. The Nadi X pants were developed to guide yoga practice through the connection between electronic devices embedded in the garment and a mobile app. The practice is guided by vibrations predefined by the user, enabled by the connectivity between the artifacts. Another example is the SoundShirt by Cutecircuit, which, through micro-actuators present in the fabric of the shirt, allows deaf individuals to experience sensory feedback through different vibrations and intensities according to the sound environment. The first SoundShirt was developed for sensory experiences in orchestras, with vibrations and movements of the garment corresponding to the instruments played, rhythms, and intensity of the music. In May 2024, Cutecircuit launched the second SoundShirt in partnership with the NUFC football team. The second garment maintains the same goal of providing sensory experiences for deaf individuals, but this time activated by the sounds of football stadiums.
In this new context, clothing with artificial intelligence (AI), wireless connectivity, the Internet of Things (IoT), health monitoring through vital signs, computational functions, augmented reality (AR), among others, are not just possibilities but a reality of development and innovation in the sector. Especially in universities, research centers, and startups, this type of research has been increasing in quantity and complexity.
We can reflect on the future directions of fashion with the technological revolution. Such products and the application of new functions in clothing seem very promising, but let’s think a bit more: with technological development, it is possible to go beyond the aesthetic and protective function of clothing, but in environmental terms, how does sustainability hold up in the production, use, and disposal of technological garments?
Before looking at integrated clothing with technology, let’s recall the environmental complexity that the fashion sector already faces. From the extraction of raw materials for making fabrics and trimmings to the post-use disposal of garments, the clothing industry presents various environmental impacts and challenges. Concerns about consumption and water pollution, raw material extraction, energy consumption, waste generation, among other impacts, are already present in the sector and still lack answers for the entire system that encompasses the fashion industry.
From this reflection on the lack of sustainability solutions already implemented in the conventional clothing sector, it is necessary to understand that the development of technological garments increases the number of environmental challenges due to the incorporation of electronic devices into clothing. In other words, the impacts are exacerbated by the combination and interweaving of computational technology with the textile and clothing sector. However, this does not mean that we need to stop developing and investing in technological innovation in fashion. In this process, Design for Sustainability presents itself as a decisive approach in the development of products, services, systems, and business models, as well as in promoting more sustainable behaviors.
Design for Sustainability and its predictive nature allows for the life cycle of the product to be mapped out before its conception, thus enabling the designer to make decisions about less impactful materials, processes, and systems and work on impact mitigation and risk prevention. Furthermore, in the context of technological clothing, Design for Sustainability can contribute by proposing additional functions to make the product or activity more sustainable, such as through eco-feedback or recording information about its repair and recyclability on the garment itself. Design allows for the adaptation of artifacts to Sustainability, presenting itself as an essential vision for a cleaner future in fashion, including technological clothing.
Finally, this particular edition of Overheated was not intended to present the potential of Design as a guide for Sustainability in Fashion and the relationships among the three themes, but I take this opportunity to emphasize the subject before diving into broader reflections. Design, Sustainability, the Fashion Sector, and Technological Clothing are my research subjects in my master’s program, so it is only fitting to use this edition, which addresses exactly the topics I have been researching and writing in my thesis, to present my view on the future of Sustainability in Fashion: Design in the context of the clothing sector will be revolutionary and essential for addressing the climate, environmental, and social crisis.
