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LiteratureReview.docxHow can virtual clothing contribute to the sustainability of the fashion industry
2. Literature Review
2.1 Reasons for promoting the development of virtual clothing
After being affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, all walks of life have been greatly affected. Driven by the environment, virtual clothing has gradually emerged and become the latest product of the fashion industry. In recent years, virtual clothing is also developing rapidly, not only in technical innovation or design creativity, are occupying the fashion market step by step. This new field redefines traditional fashion from different dimensions. This will inevitably make traditional fashion face a new challenge.
2.1.1 Progress and development of science and technology
Over time, the fashion industry has undergone a major turning point. Based on the rise of the metaverse (see Appendix 2 for explanation), the integration of the technology digital industry and the clothing industry has made virtual clothing design a unique field. From the current stage, the integration of the traditional clothing industry and digital technology will become one of the future development trends. The development of this trend is also under the continuous progress of modern science and technology, gradually changing the fashion industry.
Modern science and technology linking different industries is an important development link. At the same time, science and technology are constantly narrowing the distance between people and the virtual world, and improving the cross-space communication between the real world and the virtual world. With the rise of the concept of the metaverse (see Appendix 2 for explanation), science and technology are also radically changing the way enterprises operate, not only the internal operation but also the customer interaction (Rathore, 2021). Augmented Reality(AR) and Virtual Reality(VR) provide consumers with immersive experience through 3D modeling technology, which also makes virtual clothing not only limited to meeting the requirements of conventional appearance and function, but also pays more attention to the clothing itself and the needs of consumers and pays more attention to interactive experience. Therefore, in the metaverse (see Appendix 2 for explanation), people can better use the platform to purchase virtual clothing to achieve the virtual effect they need, and even participate in the custom design process of virtual clothing. To a large extent, these methods are also constantly stimulating the development of science and technology, which can show that the field of virtual clothing and scientific and technological development are also achieving each other. New technology development will continue to replace the old technology, and consumers are more willing to explore the new technology development brings different experiences. Therefore, enterprises that develop new technologies will gain greater market competitive advantages, and slow-developing enterprises will be divided into the market and face greater challenges.
2.1.2 Value and income generated by virtual clothing
Compared with traditional clothing, the value and income created by virtual clothing is immeasurable. Virtual clothing saves the production and logistics costs of fabrics and only needs to complete the technical development, and can realize the creation and sale of clothes on the social platform. With the rise of NFT(Non-Fungible Token, see Appendix 1 for explanation) and digital collections, virtual clothing can be realized through the sale of NFT(Non-Fungible Token, see Appendix 1 for explanation) platform and digital works to buy out the collection, to obtain more revenue. The Fabricant, a digital fashion company, sold a virtual garment 'Iridescence' (James, 2020) for $9,500 at auction using crypto blockchain technology (see Appendix 3 for explanation). The emergence of NFT(Non-Fungible Token, see Appendix 1 for explanation) creates higher value by using blockchain technology (see Appendix 3) to encrypt digital proof of stake by marking digital works (Figure 1), making them unique and impossible to copy. In today's market environment, once a work is marked with a limited number of words and unique words, the work is given a higher value. Consumers often express their aesthetic and social status by buying unique products. The virtual clothing market also makes use of the uniqueness and scarcity of works to seize the psychological demands of consumers and pay for the works. It is worth mentioning that virtual clothing is not all unique, considering the market demand part of the virtual fashion can be copied for multiple sales, the price is relatively cheap. This part of the product is to meet the needs of different consumer groups, through low prices, multi-sales can also create considerable market income. At the same time, digital fashion brands will also cooperate with traffic stars in order to launch new virtual clothes, and attract consumers by spreading the pictures of virtual clothes worn on multiple social media to open their own brand market and create more value.
Figure 1: NFT(Non-Fungible Token) virtual clothing using blockchain technology (see Appendix 1, 3 for explanation) tagged ID(Author's own work,2024)
2.1.3 Environmental awareness and sustainable development
As the problem of global warming continues to attract social attention, people are becoming more and more aware of the importance of environmental protection. According to Singh(2024), the fashion industry is a contributor to global carbon emissions and has a huge impact on ecological and climate change, which requires a comprehensive transformation to sustainable development. The fashion industry has always been one of the world's biggest polluters, so sustainability has become a growing goal of the fashion industry.
Growing environmental concerns have also further promoted the development of virtual clothing. Virtual clothing only needs to complete the technical development to meet people's fashion matching needs, compared with traditional clothing to reduce the production of fabrics, logistics and transportation of pollutants generated in the process. Although traditional clothing has undergone a comprehensive upgrade in terms of fiber fabrics and environmentally friendly technologies, no "sustainable" collection is inherently sustainable (Abad,2022). Most of the sustainable product lines launched by traditional clothing are not all using sustainable technologies and fabrics, and there are still large areas of environmental harm at different levels and production links. However, virtual clothing is designed, displayed and traded under the means of science and technology, avoiding the situation of chemical substances and waste generated in the production process of clothing. Although virtual clothing is indeed the most radical example of sustainable fashion development, virtual clothing can not completely replace traditional clothing, but it does promote sustainable development in the fashion industry.
2.1.4 Social media and online influence
The fashion industry is entering a new digital era as virtual clothing enters the public eye, making it a hot topic to share on social media and websites. Social media brings people closer to each other, but also promotes the distance between consumers and brands.
In this digital age, social media and the web have become central to development. Social media has a significant impact on both individuals and businesses, influencing public opinion and shaping consumer behavior (Pricopoaia, 2022). Social media provides a great platform for virtual clothing that is not limited by region, culture or physics. Digital fashion brands release the latest virtual clothes through social media such as Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, and quickly convey information to increase the interest of potential consumers, thus better expanding the market. Compared with traditional media, electronic social media is more dominant in media platforms (Jainet al., 2022). As shown in Figure 2, as international stars show the wearing effect of the upper body virtual clothing on social media, it also makes the virtual clothing more sought after by consumers and more recognized. Users participate in the promotion and discussion of virtual clothing by liking, commenting and sharing. On the one hand, as a digital product of the new era, virtual clothing has spread rapidly on many social media and set off a digital fashion boom. On the other hand, in recent years, e-commerce has become the general trend of consumer shopping in the future, and social media can better establish contact with global consumers and respond to market demand.
Figure 2: Tribute Brand on Instagram (Author's own work, 2024)
2.2 Compared with fast fashion, virtual clothing is an opportunity for sustainable development
In today's society, all walks of life develop rapidly, the fashion industry is not enough to take it as an example, fast fashion has become a significant phenomenon. Fast fashion, with its low prices and efficient production methods, quickly responds to the market to meet the needs of consumers for fashion and diversity. According to Cachon and Swinney(2011), fast fashion can not only design the latest "hot" products, but also satisfy the market with minimal production. In the mode of fast fashion industry, large-scale production, fast supply chain, short-cycle inventory renewal and a large amount of advertising are involved, which, to a large extent, cause serious pollution to the environment. Although fast fashion is convenient for consumers and has achieved large-scale profits with the help of e-commerce, there is no denying that it has a huge negative impact on the environment as well as workers.
Fast fashion is not a designer's idea but a product driven by the market demand and lifestyle changes of mass customers (Chouprina, 2014). The growth of this business model depends on consumers' tendency to follow trends and impulse purchases. The raw materials of fast fashion clothes are mostly made of petroleum compounds, such as Polyester, Acrylic and Nylon, which are not only harmful to the body but also take many years to biodegrade. At the same time, in this frequent update mode, fast fashion ignores the protection of workers' rights and the environment through cheap materials and cheap labor costs. Compared with fast fashion, the sustainability of virtual clothing is reflected in the production and distribution, design and sales through digital platforms, without the need for physical transportation, and greatly reducing carbon emissions. Virtual clothing provides consumers with a new way of consumption and reduces the consumption of water and energy, which is an opportunity for sustainable development. Here are the major environmental challenges facing the traditional fashion industry.
2.2.1 Water Pollution
The fashion industry is one of the main sources of environmental pollution, especially in terms of water pollution and energy consumption leading to increasing environmental pollution problems. Clothing production from cotton planting to final production, this series of processes need to use a lot of water resources and will produce a lot of wastewater in the process of dyeing, printing and finishing. These wastewater may contain heavy metals and toxic chemicals, causing pollution to water sources and aquatic life. According to the United Nations, about 20% of industrial wastewater comes from the textile industry every year, and the fashion industry consumes about 93 billion cubic meters of water every year, enough to feed 5 million people (BBC News, 2021). Cotton cultivation is the most water-consuming stage in the entire supply chain, however, these data only show the water consumed in the clothing production process, which is sold to consumers, because of the water pollution caused by washing clothes can not be ignored. According to De Falco et al. (2019), synthetic textiles will produce microplastics during the washing process, and the released microfibers may not be completely disappeared through wastewater treatment plants. 90% of the world's surface contains microplastics, of which microfibers account for 91%(Gaylarde et al., 2021). Whether wastewater treatment plants can fully treat such microfibers to reduce water pollution has also been a topic of debate.
2.2.2 Greenhouse gas emissions
The fashion industry accounts for 8% of global carbon emissions, which is more carbon emissions than international flights and shipping combined (Bailey, Basu and Sharma, 2022). The fashion industry's carbon footprint comes from a wide range of sources, including raw material production, clothing manufacturing, and logistics. Among them, the fashion industry due to the global supply model of carbon emissions can not be ignored, whether it is sea, land or air transport will produce a large number of greenhouse gases, pollution of the environment. According to UN News (2021), garment manufacturing is mainly concentrated in Asia and mainly uses coal and natural gas to generate electricity and heat, which is bound to cause a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions. If we do not change this, greenhouse gas emissions from the fashion industry are expected to increase by 50% by 2030.
2.3 The impact of virtual clothing on future consumer shopping patterns
Virtual clothing is gradually becoming a new heart force in the future fashion industry, and the fashion model it creates not only drives economic development, but also creates new opportunities for sustainable development. Virtual clothing uses technology to gradually change the way consumers shop. Nowadays, the fashion trend style changes rapidly, Virtual clothing can be through Augmented Reality(AR), Virtual Reality(VR) and 3D modeling science and technology, so that consumers can experience immersive fitting, which not only increases the interaction between brands and consumers, but also increases consumers' shopping interest. Consumers play an important role in perceiving both fit and image quality of online purchase intentions through 3D virtual clothing (Watchravesringkan et al., 2020). With the help of science and technology, consumers can try on virtual clothes on their mobile phones and get feedback on the effect in time. At the same time, the unique and novel customization of virtual clothing satisfies different consumer groups, and consumers can choose customized clothing according to their own preferences, forming a unique upper body customization effect. This form of participation can better meet the needs of consumers while increasing interest and giving higher value to the product. Compared with fast fashion, virtual clothing not only achieves sustainable development, but also meets the mentality of consumers to catch up with the trend in real time, providing consumers with the demand for trend and diversity. The integration of virtual clothing and science and technology is gradually reshaping the shopping experience and habits of consumers in the future. Virtual clothing, from providing consumers with convenience and personalized customization needs, to promoting the sustainable development of the fashion industry, will affect the way consumers shop. Although virtual clothing has good market demand and prospects in promoting sustainable development, not all consumers will pay for virtual clothing technology, and some consumers prefer to experience the real feeling of wearing. So there are still a lot of hurdles to overcome if virtual clothing wants to revolutionize the way consumers shop.
2.4 Current and future challenges of virtual clothing
As the latest product entering the fashion industry in recent years, virtual clothing is changing the demand of the fashion market, but also changing consumers' concept and consumption mode of clothing. Although the emergence of virtual clothing has a positive change in the development of sustainability, it is undeniable that virtual clothing will continue to face challenges in the future development of technology and market acceptance.
2.4.1 Technical Challenges
The production, display and sale of virtual clothing are inseparable from the support of science and technology. The core technologies of Virtual clothing revolve around Augmented Reality(AR), Virtual Reality(VR) and 3D modeling, and the improvement of these technologies is conducive to increasing the trust and interaction between virtual clothing brands and consumers. Today's rapid level of scientific and technological development, although enough to support the virtual clothing for the market, but there are still many shortcomings. 3D modeling needs to be detailed and accurate in order to better ensure the beauty and authenticity of virtual clothing. Considering the reality and accuracy of the display effect, the dynamics of the human body, the folds of the clothing, and the performance of the operating equipment are all challenges that 3D virtual technology needs to overcome (Shao, 2022). At the same time, according to the feedback of users, it can be seen that Augmented Reality(AR) and Virtual Reality(VR) technologies in the market have problems of lag reaction and can not track users well. The above technical problems will affect the user's best experience, and these are also the technical challenges that need to be solved jointly in the future under the combination of virtual clothing and science and technology.
2.4.2 Market acceptance
The market acceptance of virtual clothing is influenced by many factors, including the acceptance of fashion trends, consumer perceptions and cultural differences. The young group of Generation Z has witnessed the rapid development of science and technology and the Internet, and they pay more attention to digitalization and intelligence. Most Gen Z groups are also more willing to accept and try new things and keep up with fashion trends. However, among the older generation who accept the traditional thinking and cognition, they have reservations about the attitude of virtual fashion. Most of the older generation do not understand virtual clothing, and they are not willing to spend money on a garment that does not exist. Richard Biedul states, "I have no interest in buying 'notional' products for my 'notional' self" (James, 2020). At the same time, the price of virtual clothing is also one of the important reasons for market acceptance, ensuring the rationality of the price is more easily accepted by the market and consumers.
Reference List
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Appendix List
Appendix 1: NFT Explanation
NFT(Non-Fungible Token) is a non-replicable, tamper, and divisible cryptographic digital proof of equity that is built on blockchain technology and can be understood as a "full certificate of digital ownership of virtual assets or things."
Appendix 2: Metaverse Explanation
The metaverse is a virtual world that is mapped from the real world and can interact with the real world, and a digital living space with a new social system.
Appendix 3: Blockchain technology Explanation
