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Retail Business Review | Wednesday, April 22, 2026
FREMONT, CA: There are many advantages for brands and manufacturers when clothing can be repaired efficiently and affordably. Exported garments are valued at export rather than scrap, which remove the financial hardship of throwing away goods. Manufacturers don't have to duplicate shortages, which would impede production efficiency and result in airfreight and chargebacks. Cutting waste, a major contributor to pre-consumer fashion waste, can be minimized by utilizing special markers to cut around damaged fabric after establishing repair capabilities.
Restoring and repairing flaws discovered during the textile manufacturing process is how garment repair, a viable circular business model, reduces pre-consumer industrial waste. By extending a garment's lifespan, repairs can save waste and lessen the need for new resources.
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The apparel business produces 150 billion items yearly, contributing to a fashion waste catastrophe that generates 92 million tons of waste annually. The worldwide textile sector, valued at $1.8 trillion, is the largest ever.
Fast fashion and the disposal of clothing at the end of its useful life—known as post-consumer waste—are frequently brought up when discussing the problem of textile waste. This is a significant difficulty, particularly in the global north. Pre-consumer waste is a serious but often disregarded problem that arises a few stages earlier in production. This includes all waste materials produced in the supply chain during product manufacturing, an area that has not gotten enough attention from legislators or companies.
According to estimates, up to 47 percent of all fiber entering the fashion value chain is wasted during various production phases, from yarn and fiber to fabric and the finished garment, with limited awareness from policymakers or companies. Pre-consumer waste is more likely to be recovered and diverted from landfills or incinerators than post-consumer or end-of-life waste, as the fabric or garment remains almost brand new, even with minor repairable defects. Bunzl Retail Services plays a significant role in addressing this issue by offering innovative solutions that reduce retail waste, aligning with broader sustainability goals in the fashion industry.
Moreover, studies show that upstream activities before the export of clothing account for 72 percent of the emissions from the fashion industry, with 90 percent occurring even before the fabric is placed on the cutting table. The creative, physical, financial, and mainly natural resources involved in finished textiles and clothing that are produced but cannot be exported because of some flaws are lost. Examining the causes of pre-consumer waste reveals that maintaining tried-and-true circular business models like repairing and streamlining supply chain operations is essential for both corporate performance and the fight against climate change.
B.G. International works with manufacturers to reduce textile production waste, focusing on enhancing the lifecycle of fashion products through sustainable materials and supply chain efficiency.
Garment repair is a more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to recycling, as it transforms damaged garments into wearable export-quality items. Research shows that repairing one garment can save around 10-20 kilograms of CO2, 2,000 liters of water, 30Kw of electricity, and 10 kilograms of waste. It is quick and inexpensive and benefits manufacturers and brands by fetching export value instead of scrap value, eliminating the cost burden of discarding items. Manufacturers also don't need to reproduce shortfalls to fulfill customer orders, which can disrupt production and incur costs. Additionally, using special markers to cut around defective fabric reduces cutting wastage, a key component of pre-consumer fashion waste.
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