VTO: An Innovative Approach to Sustainable Supply Chains

Today the fashion industry faces a serious sustainability problem regarding the excessive consumption, frequent fast fashion cycles and the use of resources in manufacturing processes, as well as the large amount of textile waste. One of the major causes of this environmental impact is the high volume of product returns from ecommerce, the use of physical inventory and reverse logistics. This abstract discusses the development of Virtual Try-On (VTO) technology as a transformative and innovative solution to an optimized sustainable supply chain in the retail and apparel industry. VTO systems use Augmented Reality (AR) and 3D body scanning to help consumers accurately test fit, drape and shape of garments before buying, on a virtual mannequin. A supply chain point of view, VTO creates sustainability by separating out value from material throughput and dematerializing the traditional retail process. Most importantly, the addition of VTO technologies directly tackles the environmental impacts of online shopping, with the product return rate on average reduced by 20% to 30% and in some cases as much as 64%, aiming to increase fit accuracy and decrease overbuying.VTO's immersive digital technologies also have an impact on minimizing waste beyond the point of sale by helping to reduce the need for physical prototypes in the industry and decreasing unsold inventory. VTO creates a systemic tool for sustainable consumption and production, and not only a marketing gadget, by making physical and virtual operations converge. In conclusion, VTO technologies contribute to a more sustainable, personalized, and efficient fashion industry by drastically cutting down on the carbon footprint, physical transportation, and waste of materials that are traditionally part of today's supply chain.