The Top 5 Fashion Industry Challenges

With an ever-changing, dynamic model, the fashion industry has to not only deal with economic uncertainty but also a host of other challenges that threaten to disrupt its scale, performance, and output too. These challenges faced by the garment industry are versatile and need to be looked into carefully

With changing trends, altered consumer patterns and behaviours, and digital transformations that are gradually but surely gaining momentum alongside the road to recovery from roadblocks in the past (and mind you, we are not only referring to COVID Code 19, but a host of other issues), there are several challenges that the garment industry continues to face.

With growing economic pressure, fashion is surely in for a difficult year. With a predicted global slowdown and tighter consumer budgets due to rising living costs, inflation is undoubtedly a concern for major brands. Along with sustainability, fair pay and reasonable working conditions are two areas where industries cannot afford to relax their guard. 

So, what are the five major challenges the garment industry is facing in 2023?

1. Unnecessary textile wastes: In spite of the significant environmental cost of garment production incurred, most of it gets deposited in a landfill within 12 months of its making. Imagine 40 tons of waste being created annually in spite of cotton’s recyclable nature. If this needs to stop then the industry has to somehow adhere to closed-loop systems to keep the textile aka the garment in constant circulation. For that, we need to change the way garments are designed focusing not only on recyclability but also on sorting and collection of the textile.

2.  Changing needs and desires: Indeed, while Gen Z, millennial shoppers are responsible for getting this industry’s recent recovery, attracting this crowd requires a commitment to innovation. In fact, if truth be told, most of these Gen Z would surely prefer better technology over a lower price. So if you as a brand can incorporate augmented reality in the consumer’s journey, well you are more or less sorted. With virtual try-on tools, customers can visualize garments on their bodies without having to go through the hassle of trying them on alongside getting that personalized experience that a modern consumer desires. Although, industries also need to be wary of the threats such as cyberbullying attacks which can damage much more than the financial stability as well as the brand of the company.

3. Supply chain issues: This is a major concern for the fashion supply chain is surely suffering from freak flash, unexpected disruptions arising due to material scarcities, logistic delays, energy crises, staff issues and so on. A combo of even 2 or more of these is enough to push up distribution costs as well as manufacturing, thereby impacting profit. To minimize the effects of these, industries need to rethink their sourcing strategies by bringing greater flexibility into their supply chains. Remember, in today’s uber Gen Z scenario, our consumer wants a near-instant delivery. So, either thrive under the pressure or perish.

4. Return policies: Although thanks to the pandemic there was a spike in e-commerce sales, there was also a 20.8% return goods percentage with consumers choosing to return goods not suited to their liking. This herd behaviour being detrimental to the fashion industry in the longer run, they must take action to reverse this by analyzing their return data to understand the patterns and also the customer behaviour and characteristics contributing to this. A lack of product clarity is usually the main issue that needs to be overcome.
5. Sizing and fitting issues: A lack of a universal standardization along with what is referred to as vanity sizing aka assigning smaller sizes to make consumers feel good is a complexity that needs to be addressed big time. To address this one, the industry needs to think in line and tune with the needs of the consumers, giving them the choice and freedom to select what they wish to cater to and not what is being “standardized” by them by way of a “one size fits all”.