Sustainability by Design

AI Quick Summary

Sustainability by Design is a comprehensive approach to sustainable fashion, where an AI engine integrates into existing IT systems to track the entire product lifecycle, from design to end-of-life management, while helping designers select sustainable materials, promote reuse through planned life-cycle management, and simplify the recycling of garments.Additionally, it engages with consumers by providing transparency about the sustainability of products and guidance on their disposal. By leveraging AI tools such as deep neural networks and chatbots, this approach promotes more environmentally responsible fashion practices and advance the industry toward truly sustainable solutions. Consumers have been hearing for many years about sustainable initiatives; however most solutions have made little to no progress towards a green fashion. As demand for eco-friendly products continues to rise, the fashion industry must reflect on past lessons and incorporate sustainable practices at every stage of the product lifecycle, from conception to end-of-life management, while actively involving consumers in the process. To tackle the problem, we propose Sustainability by Design, where an AI-driven IT system helps to develop sustainable products according to three green KPIs: reduce the environmental impact of products by providing designers with suggestions of eco-friendly materials, taking into account the land and resources used to produce the material reuse the product as a different item, based on a pre-planned lifecycle designed by the brand; when a product is no longer used or damaged, it can be brought back to the firm to give it new life as a different item (open-loop recycling) recycle the product more simply, by avoiding the combination of materials that must be recycled differently, and by informing consumers on the proper way to dispose of the product The system leverages data provided by the brand to track the green KPIs of products in development and provides suggestions on materials, open-loop recycling targets, and recycling compatibility; this information allows stakeholders to make early decisions by assessing the sustainability of the various available options. It also tracks the KPIs over time and across the brand catalogue to show the progress over time. The collected information is used to inform the end consumer of the KPIs reached, supporting sustainable purchasing, and showing how to properly handle and dispose of the item when it is no longer needed. The AI engine of our system has three main duties: Tracking of KPIs is supported by a deep learning module that classifies the garment's material based on provided pictures when information about the materials is not available. During the product design, a Large Language Model (LLM) chatbot is made available to designers to recommend various material options and potential applications of the product for its second life as a different item. Finally, a different LLM chatbot is provided for consumers to inform them of the sustainable choices made by the brand and the level of green KPIs reached, while answering questions about the garment proper way of disposal, be it shipping back to the firm for open-loop recycling or how to disassemble the item in its constituent parts based on recycling criteria such as material composition and colour. The future of the fashion industry lies in integrating sustainable design and life-cycle management, enabling brands to create truly green products while actively engaging with consumers. This approach promises significant environmental benefits and increased transparency with its holistic view of a product's lifecycle. The AI engine facilitates sustainable solutions by integrating user-friendly chatbots into the design process and boosts engagement by interacting directly with eco-conscious consumers.

Project Idea Metadata

Project Idea Name: Sustainability by Design
Date: 9/4/2025 3:05:10 PM
Administrators:

Project Idea Description

Consumers have been hearing for many years about sustainable initiatives; however most solutions have made little to no progress towards a green fashion. As demand for eco-friendly products continues to rise, the fashion industry must reflect on past lessons and incorporate sustainable practices at every stage of the product lifecycle, from conception to end-of-life management, while actively involving consumers in the process.

To tackle the problem, we propose Sustainability by Design, where an AI-driven IT system helps to develop sustainable products according to three green KPIs:

reduce the environmental impact of products by providing designers with suggestions of eco-friendly materials, taking into account the land and resources used to produce the material
reuse the product as a different item, based on a pre-planned lifecycle designed by the brand; when a product is no longer used or damaged, it can be brought back to the firm to give it new life as a different item (open-loop recycling)
recycle the product more simply, by avoiding the combination of materials that must be recycled differently, and by informing consumers on the proper way to dispose of the product

The system leverages data provided by the brand to track the green KPIs of products in development and provides suggestions on materials, open-loop recycling targets, and recycling compatibility; this information allows stakeholders to make early decisions by assessing the sustainability of the various available options. It also tracks the KPIs over time and across the brand catalogue to show the progress over

time. The collected information is used to inform the end consumer of the KPIs reached, supporting sustainable purchasing, and showing how to properly handle and dispose of the item when it is no longer needed.

The AI engine of our system has three main duties: Tracking of KPIs is supported by a deep learning module that classifies the garment's material based on provided pictures when information about the materials is not available. During the product design, a Large Language Model (LLM) chatbot is made available to designers to recommend various material options and potential applications of the product for its second life as a different item.

Finally, a different LLM chatbot is provided for consumers to inform them of the sustainable choices made by the brand and the level of green KPIs reached, while answering questions about the garment proper way of disposal, be it shipping back to the firm for open-loop recycling or how to disassemble the item in its constituent parts based on recycling criteria such as material composition and colour.

The future of the fashion industry lies in integrating sustainable design and life-cycle management, enabling brands to create truly green products while actively engaging with consumers. This approach promises significant environmental benefits and increased transparency with its holistic view of a product's lifecycle. The AI engine facilitates sustainable solutions by integrating user-friendly chatbots into the design process and boosts engagement by interacting directly with eco-conscious consumers.

Sustainability by Design is a comprehensive approach to sustainable fashion, where an AI engine integrates into existing IT systems to track the entire product lifecycle, from design to end-of-life management, while helping designers select sustainable materials, promote reuse through planned life-cycle management, and simplify the recycling of garments.
Additionally, it engages with consumers by providing transparency about the sustainability of products and guidance on their disposal. By leveraging AI tools such as deep neural networks and chatbots, this approach promotes more environmentally responsible fashion practices and advance the industry toward truly sustainable solutions.