Today’s eco-question: Can avatars assist a sustainable approach?

While the metaverse has been quiet for the past few months, digital solutions for the fashion industry still hold the promise of easier product development and consumer choice. Pure marketing announcements or well thought-out services, what do these solutions have to offer?

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Increased sustainability thanks to product virtualisation

From materials to merchandising, 3D solutions now offer simulations that are as close to reality as possible. As soon as materials are sourced, they can be modeled in 3D thanks to high precision scanners. Vizoo, the leader in this field, offers dedicated scans and software to perfectly replicate the drape, weave, appearance and texture of textiles and leathers. A photorealistic rendering that then benefits Clo3D, Style 3D or Browzwear pattern making software to be as close as possible to reality.

Thanks to customizable avatars, 3D pattern-making simulates and accurately predicts on the virtual mannequin problems of volume, fabric drape or fit to avoid launching multiple prototypes before reaching the desired version.

This results in less material waste thanks to the possibility of digitally considering the color, pattern and material variations of a single reference. This makes it easier to validate products to identify which article to launch in prototyping or not.

Read also: Today’s eco-question: Can algorithms and artificial intelligence serve a more responsible fashion?

Virtual fittings

The challenge of e-commerce? Achieving a high conversion rate. If sales are commonplace on the internet, their return rate remains enormous and is most often linked to the discrepancy between a product on a photo and its look once received, and the difficulty for customers to identify the most appropriate size for their figure. Add to this the need to order several sizes or colors to secure their choice, and free or low cost returns, and you have a logistical equation for brands that is difficult to solve. Colossal volumes to receive, inspect, repackage with heavy economic and ecological impact.

Just as avatars are created to model garments during the development phase, digital twins of customers are also becoming more common. When these technologies first came to market, they were too slow or not close to reality. They were able to improve quickly to offer a satisfactory user experience at a lower cost for brands.

Fitmatch, Zeekit, 3D Look, these virtual fitting rooms are implemented on websites to create a purchasing act as close to the real thing as possible.

Just like algorithms and artificial intelligence for trend analysis, these solutions pay off when they are part of a genuine impact reduction approach. Offering an enabling solution also means taking the risk of a rebound effect, with even more products launched in production. These technologies do not have an intrinsic eco-responsible value, but they can prove to be, well managed, precious allies.

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