Fashion Can Be Greener: Dr. habil. Edit Csanák on AI and Sustainability
How can artificial intelligence help the fashion and textile industry become more sustainable, and where are its limits? Dr. habil. Edit Csanák DLA, fashion designer, researcher and Director of the Institute of Product Design at Obuda University’s Rejtő Sándor Faculty of Light Industry and Environmental Engineering, discussed these questions in an interview in the Sustainable Development supplement of the Hungarian weekly HVG.
Fashion is one of the most resource-intensive industries in the world, and according to Dr. Csanák, AI can help make it greener at almost every stage. It can predict demand more accurately, helping brands avoid overproduction, and it can optimize material use, production and supply chains. Generative AI also allows designers to develop and test many design options digitally before a single physical prototype is made. As she points out, sustainability has to be built in from the very beginning of the design process.
At the same time, technology alone does not guarantee sustainability. Proving real environmental performance requires reliable data, transparent processes and conscious decisions, which also help prevent greenwashing, or misleading environmental claims. “If there is no real, verifiable data, then there is nothing to analyze,” Dr. Csanák says. Design choices matter too: in a simple pair of jeans, metal buttons, rivets and zippers make recycling difficult, which is why some designers are experimenting with solutions that reduce metal parts.
The interview also looks at the skills the next generation of fashion designers will need. Alongside creativity, craft and materials knowledge, critical thinking, digital skills, systems thinking and ethical responsibility are becoming increasingly important. “Tomorrow’s designers will not be good because they use AI well, but because they know when, for what and with what level of responsibility it is worth using,” she says.
These ideas are already part of everyday work at Obuda University. Dr. Csanák recently served on the jury of the Re:Lindström 3.0 AI Upcycling Fashion Challenge, in which students redesign discarded workwear with the help of AI.
As she concludes in the interview: “What we need to make fashionable is responsible thinking and commitment itself.”
Congratulations to Dr. Csanák on this thoughtful interview, a valuable contribution to the conversation on technological innovation, the creative industries and a sustainable future.
Cover photo: Vilius Kukanauskas, Pixabay
At the same time, technology alone does not guarantee sustainability. Proving real environmental performance requires reliable data, transparent processes and conscious decisions, which also help prevent greenwashing, or misleading environmental claims. “If there is no real, verifiable data, then there is nothing to analyze,” Dr. Csanák says. Design choices matter too: in a simple pair of jeans, metal buttons, rivets and zippers make recycling difficult, which is why some designers are experimenting with solutions that reduce metal parts.
The interview also looks at the skills the next generation of fashion designers will need. Alongside creativity, craft and materials knowledge, critical thinking, digital skills, systems thinking and ethical responsibility are becoming increasingly important. “Tomorrow’s designers will not be good because they use AI well, but because they know when, for what and with what level of responsibility it is worth using,” she says.
These ideas are already part of everyday work at Obuda University. Dr. Csanák recently served on the jury of the Re:Lindström 3.0 AI Upcycling Fashion Challenge, in which students redesign discarded workwear with the help of AI.
As she concludes in the interview: “What we need to make fashionable is responsible thinking and commitment itself.”
Congratulations to Dr. Csanák on this thoughtful interview, a valuable contribution to the conversation on technological innovation, the creative industries and a sustainable future.
Cover photo: Vilius Kukanauskas, Pixabay
