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Technology in Fashion | May Edit

This month we asked Gordon Renouf, CEO of Good On You to list a few must reads related to sustainability and fashion tech.

Good On You has created the world’s most robust and comprehensive public facing method for comparing  fashion brands’ sustainability efforts; Good On You data underpins fashion retailers’ messages to shoppers about which brands are doing better, and powers the Good On You app and website which are heading for more than 2 million users around the world this year.

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Here is a short list of what Gordon and the team at GOY have been reading this month!

Google and Stella team up to create public resource on Sustainable Materials

Last month Google and Stella McCartney announced a significant step forward. They’ve committed to create and share tools to measure the impacts of materials  in specific supply chains, starting with cotton and viscose.

Sustainable Materials Tech can get pretty deep

Meanwhile Mistra Future Fashion has released an extensive survey of the impacts of materials on the environment. One of their conclusions is that the way a material is produced and its location can be more important than qualities of the specific material. They also evaluate whether or not newly emerging sustainable materials will be able to meet the technical requirements of current and future fashion.

Warning: this gets pretty nerdy pretty quickly ...

And more on Sustainable Materials Tech: Local Company solves key recycling dilemma

Australian startup Blocktexx is well on the way to solving a key end of life conundrum - how to separate cotton from polyester to allow them both to be recycled.

by Dominic Powell

Open-Source Innovation Can Help Transform Fashion

Open source software is often considered on of the most important innovations of the 20th century, but ‘open’ anything doesn’t always sit well with a style and IP based industry like fashion! But proponents of open-source culture - not just software -  say the concept would empower the industry to work together to tackle issues like sustainability as well as enable fashion companies to employ optimal versions of apps and software.

“The open-source model extends beyond software, with some companies embracing the concept of collaboration everywhere from product design and marketing to fabric innovation and hiring.”

by Kathaleen Chen

How Retailers Can Help their Customers Find Conscious Brands

Online luxury fashion marketplace Farfetch launched ‘The Conscious Edit’ in April, as part of its goal to help consumers “think, act and choose positively”.

by Ben Sillitoe 

Can Worker Engagement Technology Effectively Supplement Social Audits?

Worker engagement technology has emerged as a potentially useful part of assuring compliance with labour rights standards in the fashion and other supply chains. Can it supplement much critiqued social audits or is it just window dressing?

by Antoine Heuty

Using AI to help consumers manage their wardrobes more effectively

This one is fascinating. Save Your Wardrobe is a new wardrobe management app that uses AI to save you time and money, and help reduce environmental impact at the same time.

by Molshree Vaid

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Have a suggestion for our June edition?

Email through your top fashion technology reads to info@ausfashioncouncil.com!