Every year March 30 marks International Day of Zero Waste to call attention on the importance of waste management and sustainability. For the fashion and garment industry this is also of big importance as it affects the future of the industry and its impact on the planet. However, their significant waste contribution throughout their value chain also costs fashion and garment companies a lot of money.
Garment factories possess a pivotal role in the fashion and garment industry, yet the garment production causes a significant amount of waste. For every production, a garment factory produces 15 to 25 percent waste from the fabric(!) they use. Not only does this have a major negative impact on the environment, as the global textile production approximately adds up to 109 million tons of garments annually, but it is also anything but sustainable and cost-effective for the garment factories themselves. In Turkey alone, for example, garment production reached a total of 458,500 tons of fabric waste in 2017; which roughly translates to fabric worth 65,000,000 USD, calculated based on local fabric costs.
Cutting Down the Waste
Throughout the garment manufacturing process, fabric is being wasted at several stations. However, the two main culprits are the cutting and sewing department. Especially during the cutting process, a significant amount of fabric waste of 10 to 15 percent is being produced due to several factors, such as marker efficiency, marker planning, garment’s style and more. In the sewing department on the other hand most wastage happens due to sewing defects resulting to garments that do not meet customer’s standards.
With the help of several practices garment factories can tackle their wastage production. Additionally, these practices do not only reduce waste but also increase efficiency and promote cost reduction in garment manufacturing.
1. Utilizing Smart Technologies and Automations: One popular smart technology is implementing Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Systems in the manufacturing process. CAD systems allow garment manufacturers to create digital patterns and layouts and with the help of nesting algorithms they can efficiently arrange cutting patterns. This ultimately supports high marker efficiency and thus reducing fabric waste. In general smart automations increase resource efficiency in production therefore Smart Automatic Fabric Cutting Machines, such as the M8s, are popular among garment manufacturers.
Another smart technology is an online information management system that collects data throughout the production process. With the help of these data the production and the material usage can be optimized efficiently to reduce waste and costs. And, as data needs to be collected throughout the manufacturing process, it should also be implemented during fabric spreading with the SPro Fabric Spreading Machine. Here it is also important to note that digital fabric spreading machines drive sustainability forward during production.
And, we have said it several times before – automations do not only increase efficiency; they also reduce reliance on manual labor and therefore defects made by human workers. Less mistakes means less material that needs to be discarded. But, with increasing efficiency garment factories are also able to produce more with less resources. That is why many garment manufacturers are starting to automate their fabric inspection process with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The EagleAi by OSHIMA detects defects in fabrics a lot faster and lot more accurate than manual fabric inspection and, therefore, prevents defects along the production line – reducing the amount of scrap fabric. This enhanced fabric and quality control also contributes to higher quality in garments. Plus: With its smart technology it uses less energy, which saves costs and is environmentally friendly.
2. Reusing or Reutilizing: In the sewing step of garment manufacturing another big chunk of fabric waste happens due to sewing defects. It is therefore important to properly train workers or, again, utilize automations to prevent mistakes as much as possible. In case of defects garment factories can opt for reusing or reutilizing the fabric waste. Especially for bigger amounts of fabric manufacturers can reutilize them for testing in the fabric relaxation or pre-shrinking stage. Another way to reutilize fabric waste is using it to run heating boilers. To keep this as environmentally friendly as possible, we recommend using fabric waste of pure cotton only for biomass boilers. Besides that, some garment manufacturers resell or gift their fabric scraps to factories that produce mattresses so they can be used as fillings.
3. The Right Packaging: Before the finish garments reach their end customers, they need to be packed up neatly. To prevent the recall and with that wastage of product one of final, vital steps is the needle detection in the finished garments. This step is the last quality control before the product gets shipped out and ensures the safety of consumers. To prevent overpackaging and therefore unnecessary waste of materials the right machinery will cut it down to necessities. Working in high-speed, the machinery, such as this packaging solution by OSHIMA, only use the most necessary packaging materials without any reliance on manual labor.
Connected with a Digital Dashboard
However, cutting down the waste does not stop at practices in the production process. Having all garment machinery connected to one digital dashboard does not only help with streamlining the production, it also supports making the right business decisions as a garment manufacturer. With utilizing the data garment factories can track and manage raw materials, production progress, and finished goods to overview the inventory. In the long run this prevents waste and extra costs due to excess stock. Plus, understanding the data and utilizing market research manufacturers can predict demands and trends more accurately to plan their inventory ahead.
Digital Dashboards also promote implementing practices that reduce the number of resources used and minimize any steps that don’t add value to a company. Which also means that processes, that don’t generate a return of investment, can be recognized easily.
More Than Just Saving Costs
Ultimately wasting less fabric during garment production improves efficiency and saves a lot of costs. But, reducing fabric wastage also has other benefits that become noticeble in the long run. After all, the main goal of reducing waste is the environmental preservation with using less natural resources, and reducing the pollution. Garment factories have a pivotal role in the fashion and garment industry which is known for having an immense impact on the environment. With making garment manufacturing more environmentally friendly, it also minimizes its impact.
Additionally, promoting resource efficiency and waste reduction also leads to implementing ethical and sustainable manufacturing practices. This also alings with the rising demand of customers who put high value in sustainablity and keep voicing concerncs against fast fashion.
Conclusion
Unsustainablity and fabric wastage is an ongoing issue in garment manufactuing. Consumers are well aware of its immense impact on the environment and society, and, ultimately, also its consequences for the fashion and garment industry itself. Fortunately, there are solutions any garment manufactuerer can implement that can lead to transofrmative changes. Though they may seem far-reached at first, sometimes even a small change along the production line can result to a big change. Contact us now to sustainably streamline your garment manufacturing not only for you but also for the environment.
