A Systematic Review of Green and Digital Transitional Factors in the Fashion Industry

Abstract

Background: The fashion industry's current manufacturing approach raises various environmental and social concerns, including but not limited to carbon emissions, resource depletion, waste generation, substantial energy consumption, and labour exploitation. Green and digital fashion can minimise these issues. However, fashion's green and digital shifts need more coverage. Objectives: This paper aims to observe and explore the key elements of green and digital transitions in the fashion industry. Methods/Approach: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines, this systematic review study examined articles on green and digital transformations in the fashion supply chain from 2012 to 2022 in relevant indexation services. The researchers used descriptive and content analysis to explain the results from 46 of the 518 publications that were relevant to their study. Results: The study uncovered green transforming factors such as green materials, green energy, cleaner production, and others, as well as digital shifting factors like artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), and robotics. Conclusions: This study's findings can assist practitioners and policymakers in integrating digital and green technologies into the fashion industry. Moreover, this study identified several research gaps that, if addressed, could have significant practical implications for the future of the fashion industry.