It’s no surprise the fashion industry is responsible for a significant portion of annual greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, it’s overwhelming when you consider that retail accounts for nearly 25% of the global GHG emissions. And to be clear: when the Charming team first published this article in 2022, that number was 8%.

While emission numbers have been rising, members of the retail industry are still ramping up their commitment. The Race to Zero campaign, supported by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WVCD), Walmart, and others, has ambitious goals. It aims to reduce retail greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

When brands think about tackling the climate crisis, they often start by brainstorming ways to improve their materials or processes. But they’re neglecting a key contributor to their emissions: overproduction.

The impacts of garment overproduction

The Guardian recently published an article citing a WGSN x OC&C Report which states that between 10 and 40% of clothing produced annually is never sold. With estimates of 150 billion garments being produced each year, this percentage is no joke: billions and billions of pieces of clothing never leave the warehouse.

Research shows that each t-shirt takes about 2,700 liters of water to make, and the production process releases about 2.7 kg of CO2. If 150 billion garments are produced annually and 40% are never sold, that’s one hundred sixty-two trillion liters of water and one hundred sixty-two billion kg of CO2 — all for clothing that never even reaches the consumer.

Even if every item you manufacture is produced in a sustainable way, you can still produce waste by making products that aren’t sold. To make a considerable dent in emissions, apparel manufacturers will have to address the problem of producing large surpluses. 

How forecasting can reduce unnecessary production

Those numbers are absolutely shocking, but businesses aren’t producing excess for fun. In fact, they pay a steep price for unsold goods. So why is overproduction such a big problem?

Brands produce so many garments for a number of reasons. First, they tend to think on the positive side, assuming their brand will grow — but they’re not always sure to what extent. They’re also taking into account things like bulk discounts, sales events, and fear of out-of-stock situations. 

There’s really only one way to plan for these factors: strategic demand forecasting. 

Now more than ever, machine learning and AI tools can enable brands to predict future sales with never-before-seen accuracy. These tools feed historical sales data into smart algorithms that can help brands create more precise estimates for upcoming sales cycles. 

But the key to great forecasting is great data. In order to power your machine learning model, you need to feed it with organized and clean data on things like:

• Historical sales
• Market trends
• Marketing and promotions
• Customer data
• Supply chain factors
• Existing inventory

When you forecast accurately, you not only save money on unnecessary inventory. You save the planet, too. 

How Charming can help

Meticulous inventory planning and forecasting eliminates waste and reduces the use of water, fossil fuels, and other natural resources — but if you don’t have good data, it’s hard to accomplish good forecasting.

Charming Trim’s technologies like RFID labels and QR codes can help you keep track of your inventory and sales with unmatched precision. And the best part is: these tools do the hard work for you, allowing you to not only track and trace garments, but raw material inputs, too.

“We can even work with you to incentivize your good forecasting by rebating based on accuracy,” Rich Ringeisen, the President of Charming Trim, shared. 

“After all, the better information we get, the better our pricing and the more efficient our production — so we always pass those savings on.” 

To learn more about Charming’s RFID, check out our product page here. And if you’re not sure where you want to start, reach out to our team for a complimentary consultation.