Abstract for: A System Dynamics Analysis of Rebound Effects of Digital Textile Microfactories in the Fashion Industry

Fashion is characterized by being a high-resource consumer, having globalized supply chains, and overproducing, leading to a high volume of waste and pollution. Hence, this industry needs to transition to one that is more environmentally friendly. One potential solution comes from Industry 4.0 in the form of Digital Textile Microfactories (DTMFs). DTMFs offers a customer-centric focus while digitalizing the design and production processes, resulting in environmental benefits. However, the lack of historical cases of DTMFs impedes understanding the potential impacts of DTMFs. This paper uses a System Dynamics approach to analyze the environmental impacts of introducing DTMFs. Our focus is to study the effects of shortened lead times, enhanced sustainability in production, and the potential price that DTMFs on consumption. Our results suggest that new digital technology in form of DTMFs alone is insufficient to mitigate the environmental impacts of the fashion industry. Therefore, in addition, a change in customer behavior is required to achieve a more sustainable fashion sector.