Supply Style, the main vacation spot for accountable sourcing and trend innovation, has launched a landmark report tackling one of many trend business’s most urgent however least addressed points: overproduction.
Supply Style’s new report, Do We Actually Must Produce So A lot?, reveals trend’s overproduction disaster—80–150 billion clothes made yearly, with as much as 40 per cent unsold.
It urges manufacturers to undertake on-demand manufacturing, round design, resale, and co-creation to chop waste and enhance margins.
The report requires a shift to smarter, leaner, and extra sustainable fashions.
Titled “Do We Really Need to Produce So Much?”, the report—developed in collaboration with retail futures consultancy Insider Tendencies—affords a data-rich exploration of the size, causes, and penalties of overproduction. It presents forward-thinking options for manufacturers seeking to stay aggressive whereas lowering waste and environmental impression. The complete report is now out there for obtain at Supply Style – Overproduction Report 2025.
Overproduction: A Pricey and Widespread Concern
The report reveals that the worldwide trend business produces between 80 and 150 billion clothes yearly—but as much as 40% stay unsold, incessantly ending up in landfill, incineration, or markdown bins. Regardless of the environmental and monetary toll, just one% of trend manufacturers are actively working to scale back manufacturing volumes.
A New Blueprint for Style
Quite than merely highlighting the issue, the report presents actionable fashions already being piloted by main manufacturers and retailers:
On-Demand Manufacturing – Producing solely what is required, when it’s wanted, to eradicate extra inventory. Round Design – Creating clothes designed to be reused, repaired, or recycled, thereby extending their lifecycle. Retail-as-a-Service – Shifting from possession to entry fashions akin to rental, resale, and subscription. Collaborative Creation – Co-designing with shoppers to make sure relevancy and cut back waste.
Because the report states, “Brands can reduce production without reducing profit. In fact, in many cases, it increases margins and strengthens consumer trust.” The publication contains case research from manufacturers already implementing these approaches, demonstrating business viability alongside sustainability good points.
A Turning Level for Retail
The report arrives at a pivotal second for trend, because the business faces shifting client expectations, financial uncertainty, and rising strain from each regulators and traders.
Suzanne Ellingham, Sourcing Director at Supply stated, “This report highlights the uncomfortable truth behind retails success — that excess production is built into the model with volume is the only way to increase profits. As we approach 2025, companies must question not only how they produce, but how much, and how they deal with . There are real over production and excess. Opportunities for those willing to embrace a leaner, smarter, more circular future.”
Word: The headline, insights, and picture of this press launch might have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion employees; the remainder of the content material stays unchanged.