The Good, the Bad, and the Sustainable: How Technology Has Changed and Continues to Change the World of Fashion, from Cotton Gin to Digital Clothes

Abstract

The fashion industry is considered to be the second most polluting industry, largely due to the production model of fast fashion, which tends to maximize profits at the expense of the environment and workers’ rights. The development of technology and fast fashion are intertwined: The invention of the cotton gin pushed the world from the agricultural era toward the industrial revolution, and the invention of synthetic dyes created a demand for bright clothing. Today, technology plays a significant role in the marketing and sale of fast fashion. Social networks and trading applications have led to shortening the duration of wear and increase in the amount of clothes sold and thrown away shortly, mostly in the global south, presented as donation. At the same time, the development of technology is the main factor in the development of sustainable fashion; mostly in the fields of production efficiency, disposal of clothes, and increased transparency. This chapter highlights the most recent developments and trends in the field of sustainable, technology-based fashion. While reviewing the environmental consequences of fast fashion, as well as the historical connection between technology and fashion. This includes reference to fast fashion corporations and consumer protests that were distributed and operated by technological means.